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Valencia (DO)
Encyclopedia
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Denominación de Origen
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) (Denominació d'Origen in Valencian
Valencian
Valencian is the traditional and official name of the Catalan language in the Valencian Community. There are dialectical differences from standard Catalan, and under the Valencian Statute of Autonomy, the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua has been established as its regulator...
) for wines located in the province of Valencia
Valencia (province)
Valencia or València is a province of Spain, in the central part of the Valencian Community.It is bordered by the provinces of Alicante, Albacete, Cuenca, Teruel, Castellón, and the Mediterranean Sea...
(Valencian Community
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...
) and is divided into two separate zones and four sub-zones each one of which produces a different type of wine.
History
Grape growing and wine production has been present in this area for thousands of years as attested by several archaeological finds, including NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
tombs containing remains of grapes.
The wine from Sagunto
Sagunto
Sagunto or Sagunt is an ancient city in Eastern Spain, in the modern fertile comarca of Camp de Morvedre in the province of Valencia. It is located in a hilly site, c. 30 km north of Valencia, close to the Costa del Azahar on the Mediterranean Sea...
was mentioned in texts by Juvenal
Juvenal
The Satires are a collection of satirical poems by the Latin author Juvenal written in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD.Juvenal is credited with sixteen known poems divided among five books; all are in the Roman genre of satire, which, at its most basic in the time of the author, comprised a...
and Marcial in the 2nd century BC.
In the 13th century the valencian citizen Arnau de Vilanova wrote one of the first treatises on Spanish wine
Spanish wine
Spanish wines are wines produced in the southwestern European country of Spain. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 2.9 million acres planted—making it the most widely planted wine producing nation but it is the third largest producer of wine in the world, the largest...
.
Valentino
The Valentino sub-zone, located to the northwest, is the largest one and its vineyards slope gently upwards from the coastal plain towards the interior of the province. This sub-zone is in turn divided in three geographically distinct areas:- ChesteChesteCheste is a municipality in the comarca of Hoya de Buñol in the Valencian Community, Spain, located 26 km from the capital Valencia.- History :...
and Marquesado at a height of 175 m above sea level with brown and reddish lime bearing soils. - Campos de Liria at a height of 275 m above sea level, where the soils are similar to the ones at lower altitudes.
- SerraníaSerraniaSerrania is a Brazilian city in the state of Minas Gerais. As of 2009 census its population is estimated to be 7,584.The city has an area of 211,48 square kilometers. The population density is about 37/km2. The elevation is 895 meters....
at a height of 550 m above sea level, with brown lime bearing soils over consolidated subsoils.
Alto Turia
The Alto Turia sub-zone is located to the west of Valentino at a height of between 700 m and 1,100 m above sea level and is characterised by its sandy soils.Moscatel
The Moscatel sub-zone is located at the western boundary of the city of Valencia and the vineyards rise from sea level to an altitude of 100 m.Clariano
The Clariano sub-zone is to the south, further away from the other three sub-zones and close to the towns of Játiva and GandíaGandia
Gandia is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar, 65 km south of Valencia and 96 km north of Alicante....
. It is geographically divided into two different areas:
- one area to the east, at a height of 350 m above sea level where the soils are similar to those in Valentino
- another area in the Vall d'AlbaidaVall d'AlbaidaVall d'Albaida is a comarca in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain, of some 722 square kilometers and some 90,000 inhabitants around the year 2008 at some 70 Km of the city of Valencia...
, where the soils have a higher proportion of clay over a brown lime bearing subsoil
Soils
In general, the subsoils vary from fluvial type at low altitudes, to lime bearing at the higher altitudes, and sandy type at the intermediate altitudes. They are generally soils from the MioceneMiocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
and the Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
period, very permeable and therefore do not give rise to drainage problems.
Climate
The coastal vineyards have a Mediterranean climateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
but the majority which are further inland have a mild continental climate
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
(long, hot dry summers and cold winters). Temperatures can vary up to 30°C on a daily basis. Maximum temperature in summer can reach over 40°C and in winter drop to -5°C.
Some areas are classified as arid or semi-arid, though violent storms are common in summer and autumn. Hailstones fall occasionally and strong winds can sometimes cause damage in the Cheste sub-zone.
Drought has always been a problem for grape growers, though today drip irrigation is permitted by the Regulatory Council of the DO.
Grapes
MersegueraMerseguera
Merseguera is a white Spanish wine grape variety planted primarily in the Alicante, Jumilla and Valencia regions.- Synonyms :Merseguera is also known under the synonyms Blanqueta, Blanquilla, Escanavella, Escanyagos, Escanyavella, Exquitsagos, Exquitxagos, Gayata, Gayata Blanca, Lanjaron, Lanjaron...
is the most characteristic white variety in the area, though many different grape varieties are authorised in Valencia DO:
- White: MersegueraMersegueraMerseguera is a white Spanish wine grape variety planted primarily in the Alicante, Jumilla and Valencia regions.- Synonyms :Merseguera is also known under the synonyms Blanqueta, Blanquilla, Escanavella, Escanyagos, Escanyavella, Exquitsagos, Exquitxagos, Gayata, Gayata Blanca, Lanjaron, Lanjaron...
, MalvasíaMalvasiaMalvasia is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world...
, Pedro XiménezPedro XiménezPedro Ximénez is the name of a white grape grown in certain regions of Spain, and also a varietal wine, an intensely sweet, dark, dessert sherry...
, Moscatel Romano, Planta Fina, MacabeoMacabeoViura, also called Macabeo or Macabeu is a white variety of wine grape.It is widely grown in the Rioja region of northeastern Spain, the Cava producing areas south of Barcelona, and the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France...
, ChardonnayChardonnayChardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
(also permitted: Planta Nova, Tortosí, Verdil, Sauvignon BlancSauvignon blancSauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...
, SémillonSémillonSémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, most notably in France and Australia.-History:The origin of the Sémillon grape is hard to determine. It is known that it first arrived in Australia in the early 19th century and by the 1820s the grape covered over 90 percent...
) - Red: Monastrell, Garnacha Tintorera, Garnacha Tinta, Cabernet SauvignonCabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
, Pinot NoirPinot NoirPinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
, MerlotMerlotMerlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
(also permitted: Forcayat, BobalBobalBobal is a variety of Vitis Vinifera, a red grape used in winemaking. It is native to the Utiel-Requena region in Valencia, Spain. The name derives from the Latin bovale, in reference to the shape of a bull’s head....
, Syrah)
Two different different types of vineyards are present in the DO depending on the climate. In the hot areas, the vines are planted as low bushes (en vaso) at a distance of 2.5 m from each other, as they are better protected from the heat if they are closer to the ground. In milder climates the vines tend to be planted on trellises (en espaldera).
The most common rootstock is the 41-B clone due to its high resistance to drought.
Vine planting density is low and ranges from a minimum of 1,600 vines/ha to 2,500 vines/ha.
Wines
Apart from the conventional wines made in a similar way to other wine producing regions, Valencia DO has two unusual characteristics:- In 1995 an agreement was signed to legalise a traditional practice which consisted in blending in the BobalBobalBobal is a variety of Vitis Vinifera, a red grape used in winemaking. It is native to the Utiel-Requena region in Valencia, Spain. The name derives from the Latin bovale, in reference to the shape of a bull’s head....
red grape variety from the neighbouring Utiel-RequenaUtiel-RequenaUtiel Requena is a Spanish Denominación de Origen for wines located in the province of Valencia . It takes its name from the two neighbouring towns of Utiel and Requena...
DO to give body and aroma to the Valencian wines. - The aging times for wines in the Valencia DO are shorter than in other Spanish wine producing regions due to the climatic conditions where the extreme daily temperature variations accelerate the ageing process. Thus crianza wines only have to remain in oak for a minimum of three months, Reserva for six months and Gran Reserva for nine months.
External links
- http://www.winesfromspain.com
- http://www.vinovalencia.org