Andalusia (andalucía) is the southernmost administrative region of Spain on a hot South-West of the country. It is the birthplace of world-famous fortified wines of Jerez (sherry).
It is the most populous region of Spain with a very colorful history, during which he was constantly subjected to invasion because of its strategic position as the gate way to the Mediterranean and proximity to the African continent. Arabs, Gypsies, Iberia, the Castilians, the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, vandals, Visigoths, Byzantines – all of them in a period of time considered Andalusia their land, and they all left their mark here.
The name Andalusia comes from the Arabic name of the region al Andalus, which presumably is a transformation from Vandalusia, i.e. “land of the vandals”.
It is a reflection of a short period in the fifth century, when this territory was ruled by barbarians.
The consequence of this multiculturalism in the past was very diverse cultural heritage of the region. Bullfighting and flamenco are two of the most exciting Spanish tradition – in fact, a native of Andalusia.
The main wines of Andalusia
In addition to the outstanding Moorish architecture, amazing landscapes and beaches, Andalucia boasts a rich history of winemaking, Dating back to the 8th century BC and a number of notable DO (denominaciones, i.e. Spanish appellations).
Although table wines are also produced here, the fame of the region brought, of course, fortified wine, combining 5 DO local. This is the range of wines from light and fresh dry Fino sherries (Fino) and Manzanilla (Manzanilla) to saturated syrupy sweet sherry Pedro Ximenez (Pedro Ximenez or ‘PX’).
The star of the region – appellation sherry (Jerez), the historic port and the birthplace of the famous sherry (Sherry). And also nearby coastal town of Sanlucar de Barrameda, famous for the Manzanilla sherry.
Montilla-Moriles (Montilla-Moriles) is located in the Northern DO of Andalusia. Specializiruetsya nekreplenoy in the production of sweet wines from the Moscatel varieties (Muscat).
Malaga (Malaga) and Sierras de Malaga (Sierras de Malaga) share the same territory but have different focuses: sweet wines in the first case, and dry canteens in the second.
Climate zone
The climate of Andalusia, substantially forming the wine landscape of the region can be divided into three main areas:
Grapes
The last two zones is particularly advantageous for the production of the iconic heavy dessert wines from the varieties Pedro Ximenez and Moscatel (Muscat). But lower the average temperature of the strip of the West coast have desired characteristics for preserving critical acidity of the varieties Palomino and the production of dry sherries Fino and Manzanilla.
Airen is another important inhabitant of the vineyards of the Northern part of Andalusia. Although it is used mainly in the production of brandy in the composition of wine blends.
International varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot give good results in the southern part of the region, and increasingly popular with local growers and winemakers.
Source: portal Wine-Searcher /Jan. 2019