Valencia (Valencia) – one of the 17 Autonomous communities of Spain, famous for its paella and oranges than wines. Located on the Sunny East coast of the country, bordered by Catalonia in the North and Murcia in the South.

The administrative centre of Valencia bears the same name and is a major port city, third largest population in Spain.

Archaeological evidence proves the existence of winemaking in the region for more than 1000 years ago, but a noticeable role on the wine map of the world Valencia never played. In the recent past here were more focused on quantity than on the quality of the wine. Although now there are attempts to change the situation.

The appellations and geography

In addition to the General regional appellation Valencia DO, within the boundaries of the region subregional Utiel-Requena DO Alicante DO. And here why-that is the territory that are authorized for the production of sparkling wines of the Cava DO.

Common appellation of the DO Valencia, covering approximately 13,000 hectares of vineyards, geographically consists of two unequal parts:

• Smaller called Clarino (Clarino) – abuts the North edge of the zone of Alicante (Alicante DO). Here the rule “meaty” red wines of the varieties monastrell, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
• A large remaining area, which is the main part of the vineyards of Valencia. She goes deep into the Peninsula and rests in the Iberian mountain range.

It is geographically. And from the point of view of winemaking, Valencia can be divided into three sub-zones:

Alto Turia (Alto Turia), located approximately 70 kilometers North-East from Valencia. As the name suggests, is an area in the highlands, centered around the upper sections of the river Turia. Local vineyards grow at altitudes from 700 to 1100 meters above sea level, making Alto Turia itself tall and cool subzones of the DO Valencia. So it is the most suitable for the production of dry white wines. It is dominated by varieties macabeo and local merseguera (Merseguera).

Downstream of the river Turia is the second wine producing area, known for its sweet wines Moscatel de Valencia (Moscatel de Valencia). Here the vineyards lie at heights of from 150 to 400 meters. Although there are few hotter than in Alto Turia, vineyards helps cool breeze from the Mediterranean. Based on excellent local dessert wines Muscat of Alexandria lies.

On the Eastern edge of the valley of the river Turia zone Valentino (Valentino), where the range of wines is much wider than in neighboring countries. How do local white from macabeo and merseguera and international Chardonnay and Semillon (Semillon). In red is dominated by Garnacha (Grenache), Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Styles of wine

The traditional wine of Valencia portfolio consists of a wide range of wines from light red, white and pink to heavy red meat and a fortified Muscat.

Today it is impossible to identify a style of wine, typical of Valencia as a whole. However, a noticeable tendency to increase the production of quality wines, is balkovich on which the region has specialized a significant part of the 20th century. Search of style, visible here in the thread rich, fruity red wines based on monastrell. A number of wineries in line with modern consumer preferences produce fresh red aged in oak.

Source: wine-searcher.com /Jul 2019