Tarragona (DO)
Encyclopedia
Tarragona is a Spanish 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 Catalan) for wines located in the province of Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...

 (Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

, Spain
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...

) and covers three distinct areas: the Camp de Tarragona
Camp de Tarragona
Camp de Tarragona is a natural and historical region of Catalonia, Spain. It includes a central plain, surrounded by the Serralada Prelitoral mountain chain on the west and in the north, with the Mediterranean sand beaches of the Costa Daurada on the east and limited in the south by the Coll de...

, a part of the Priorat
Priorat
Priorat is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain. The central part of the comarca, "Priorat històric," produces the famous and prestigious wine of the Denominación de Origen Calificada Priorat. Wines from elsewhere in the comarca are denominated as Montsant...

 comarca (district) and a part of the Ribera d'Ebre
Ribera d'Ebre
Ribera d'Ebre is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain. The name in Catalan refers to its location on the banks of the river Ebre, usually referred to in English by its Spanish name, "Ebro.- Municipalities :Populations are from 2001.* Ascó - pop. 1,617...

 comarca (district). Over 70% of the production is white grapes most of which are used to make Cava.

History

Tarragona has been renowned for its sweet red wines since the times of the ancient Romans, when it was exported to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. The area under vines expanded constantly over the centuries to the point that in 1900 over 50% of the province was covered by vineyards. It was badly affected by the outbreak of the phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...

 plague at that time. In 1932 the wines from the area were given a form of legal protection, and in 1976 it acquired DO status.

Geography

The vineyards are located along the coast and extend inland towards the border with the province of Lleida
Lleida
Lleida is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida, as well as the largest city in the province and it had 137,387 inhabitants , including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants...

. There are two official sub-zones: Camp de Tarragona is the largest one containing 70% of the vines and extending around the north and east of Tarragona in a radius of 30 km, at an altitude of abround 200 m above sea level. The second sub-zone, Ribera d’Ebre, is located to the south and west of Tarragona. The vines here are on small plateaus on the banks of the River Ebro at an altitude of between 100 m to 400 m above sea level.

Soils

In Camp de Taragona, the soils are dark with a considerable content of lime, while the sub soil is alluvial. In Ribera d’Ebre the soils are fertile and alluvial in nature, especially if close to the river.

Climate

The climate is Mediterranean with continental influences in the higher part of the Ebro river valley. Annual rainfall varies between 475 mm in Camp de Tarragona and 650 mm in the Ribera d’Ebre. The average annual temperature is 16°C (max 35°C in summer, min 3°C in winter). The risk of frost is very slight.

Grapes

The three authorised white varieties are: Macabeo
Macabeo
Viura, 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...

, Garnacha Blanca and Pedro Ximénez
Pedro Ximénez
Pedro 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...

, while the authorised red varieties are Garnacha Tinta, Cariñena, Tempranillo
Tempranillo
Tempranillo 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...

 (known locally in Catalan language as Ull de Llebre), Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet 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...

 and Merlot
Merlot
Merlot 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...

.

The older vines are planted as low bushes (en vaso) while the newer ones are on trellises (en espaldera). I both cases they are planted at intervas of 1.4 m between vines and 2.8 m between rows (marco real).

Wines Produced

Most wineries in Tarragona DO now produce and bottle modern reds whites and rosés. Only a few still produce the traditional wines:
  • Rancios (rancid) wines are left out in the sun in glass demijohns and are then aged for at least four years in oak barrels
  • Tarragona Clásico (Classic Tarragona) is made with 100% very ripe Tempranillo grapes, and is fermented until it attains a maximum of 17% alcohol. It is then aged for twelve years in oak containers of up to a maximum capacity of 2,000 litres. Sometimes the solera system is used.
  • Sweet dessert wine is aged for five to ten years in vats, oak casks or in the bottle.

External links

  • http://www.winesfromspain.com
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