Cigales
Encyclopedia
Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen is part of a regulatory classification system primarily for Spanish wines but also for other foodstuffs like honey, meats and condiments. In wines it parallels the hierarchical system of France and Italy although Rioja and Sherry preceded the full system...
(DO) for wines located to the north of Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
(Castile and León
Castile and León
Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...
, Spain) along both banks of the River Pisuerga.
It includes several municipalities, including Valladolid itself, Dueñas
Dueñas, Palencia
Dueñas is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain....
, Cabezón de Pisuerga
Cabezón de Pisuerga
Cabezón de Pisuerga is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 2,344 inhabitants....
, Cigales, Corcos del Valle, Cubillas de Santa Marta
Cubillas de Santa Marta
Cubillas de Santa Marta is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 292 inhabitants....
, Fuensaldaña
Fuensaldaña
Fuensaldaña is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 1,149 inhabitants....
, Mucientes
Mucientes
Mucientes is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 632 inhabitants....
, Quintanilla de Trigueros
Quintanilla de Trigueros
Quintanilla de Trigueros is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 118 inhabitants....
, San Martín de Valvení
San Martín de Valvení
San Martín de Valvení is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 105 inhabitants....
, Trigueros del Valle
Trigueros del Valle
Trigueros del Valle is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 336 inhabitants....
and Valoria la Buena
Valoria la Buena
Valoria la Buena is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 666 inhabitants....
. The DO has an extension of 574 km² and is at an altitude of 750 m above sea level. It is a relatively recent DO, having been created in 1991.
History
The first known inhabitants of this area were the Vaccaei, who were subjugated by the ancient Romans in the 2nd century BC. As in the rest of the peninsula, the Romans introduced vines along with other agricultural innovations. The number of vineyards increased significantly during the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
due to the influence of the monasteries.
Mary of Austria, Queen of Hungary, died in Cigales in 1558.
Climate
The Cigales DO has a continental climate (long hot summers, cold winters) with an Atlantic maritime influence and strong temperature variations. Temperatures often fall below 0°C during the winter and there are usually frosts in spring, which represents a significant risk for the grape harvest, and can reach 40°C in summer. Rainfall is light, about 425 mm per annum, falling mostly in spring and autumn.Soil
The soil is light brown in colour and is formed by lime-bearing sand and gypsum-bearing clays, lying on a subsoil of clays and marls. Its structure is granular, weak, not very rocky and lacking in organic material.Wines Produced
Like other DOs in the region, Cigales supplied Valladolid and other cities with wine during the Middle Ages. While ToroToro, Zamora
Toro is a town and municipality in the province of Zamora, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is located on a fertile high plain, northwest of Madrid at an elevation of 740 meters....
supplied red wine and Rueda
Rueda (DO)
Rueda is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located in the Community of Castile and León. It comprises 72 municipalities, of which 53 are in the province of Valladolid, 17 are in the north of the province of Segovia, and 2 are in the north of the province of Ávila...
white wine, Cigales specialised in claret
Claret
Claret is a name primarily used in British English for red wine from the Bordeaux region of France.-Usage:Claret derives from the French clairet, a now uncommon dark rosé and the most common wine exported from Bordeaux until the 18th century...
s and rosé
Rosé
A rosé is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.- Production techniques :There are three major ways to produce rosé...
s. These wines were made until recently in underground cellars, which were often shared by small wine-makers (bodegueros) and which were excavated to depths of over 10 m.
Authorised Grape Varieties
- Red grapes: TempranilloTempranilloTempranillo is a variety of black grape widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its native Spain. It is the main grape used in Rioja, and is often referred to as Spain's "noble grape". Its name is the diminutive of the Spanish temprano , a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks...
, Garnacha Tinta, Garnacha Gris - White grapes: VerdejoVerdejoVerdejo is a variety of wine grape that has long been grown in the Rueda region of Spain. The grape originated in North Africa, and was spread to Rueda in about the 11th Century, possibly by Mozarabs. Verdejo was generally used to make a strongly oxidized, Sherry-like wine...
, AlbilloAlbilloAlbillo or Albillo Real is a white Spanish wine grape planted primarily in the Ribera del Duero region, and also in Madrid, Ávila and Galicia. The grape has mostly neutral flavors with a light perfume aroma. It has a high glycerol index which confers smoothness to the wines.It is sometimes added to...
External links
- http://do-cigales.es
- http://winesfromspain.com