Penedès

Infobox Wine Region
name = Penedès

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caption = "Tempranillo vines, Clos la Plana, Garraf"
official name = Denominació d'Origen Penedès
other name =
type = DO
year =
wine years = 1500
country = Spain
part of = Catalonia
similar =
sub regions = Lower, Central, Upper
season = April - September
climate region = IV
heat units = 3500
precipitation = 400 mm
soil = poor, permeable, variable: clay to chalk
total size = 1557 km²
planted = 260 km²
vineyards =
grapes = 1,800 t/km²
varietals = Parellada, Macabeo, Xarel·lo, Garnacha, Tempranillo, Merlot
wineries =
wine produced = 33,000,000 litres
designation = Cosecha, Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva
comments = 2005

The Penedès wine-making region of Catalonia in Northeast Spain lies to the south-west of the city of Barcelona. The area is framed by the coastal hills of the Garraf and the higher inland mountains which skirt the Central Depression. Long considered one of the country's best wine-producing regions after the Rioja, it is also one of the most ancient viticultural areas in Europe. Perhaps better-known for its Cava production (a sparkling wine which has had its own "Denominació d'Origen" since 1991) white grape varieties predominate, although the region also produces some highly-regarded, oak-aged reds.

The "Denominació d'Origen Penedès" is centred in the regional capital, Vilafranca del Penedès, with nearby Sant Sadurní d'Anoia the acknowledged centre of Cava production.

History

According to archaeological evidence (some of which is on display in Vilafranca's Wine Museum) wine production in the Penedès has ancient origins, certainly dating back to the Phoenician introduction of Chardonnay vines during the 6th century BC. A large export market is known to have existed even through Moorish occupation in the Middle Ages. Eighteenth century Spanish expansion into South America generated an unprecedented demand for Penedès wines which has barely abated since.

The region did not escape the pan-European devastation of the phylloxera plague, one effect of which was a large-scale change in the predominant grape types from red to almost exclusively white, which in turn led to the first Cava production in the 1870s. Since then, red varietals have regained some ground but remain a relatively minor part of regional production.

Production

Extending from the low-lying plains of the Baix Penedès to the more temperate peaks of the Alt Penedès, the region is well-suited to growing an unusually wide range of grape varieties. While the more typical Spanish black grapes (Garnacha, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cariñena, among others) are found in the hot and humid coastal plains, as the land rises whites become increasingly common.

On this higher inland terrain Spanish Xarel·lo and Macabeo grapes form the overwhelming majority, but Penedès growers have long experimented with small plantations of French and German strains, with notable quantities of Muscat d’Alexandrie, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay being more recently introduced, largely to diversify the range of grapes available for the blending which plays such an important part in cava production. The Alt Penedès has vineyards which rank amongst the highest in Europe at up to 800 m above sea level and here the native Parellada variety is predominantly grown.

Cava is inextricably linked to still wine production in the region, as its booming success of recent years has provided the revenue and innovation behind the rise, both in quality and in fortunes, of the region's still wines.

Producers

The Penedès is widely acknowledged to be home to the most modern and innovative of Spanish growers. There are hundreds of independent producers, the most famous of which is probably Bodegas Torres, producer of the popular 'Sangre de Toro' (Bull's Blood - not to be confused with the Hungarian Egri Bikavér) as well as many other fine still wines. Other notable houses include Pinord, Jean León, and Masia Bach, alongside more well-known Cava producers like Freixenet, Juvé y Camps and Codorníu.

ee also

*Spanish wine
*Cava
*Alt Penedès
*Baix Penedès
*Garraf
*Catalan wine

External links

* [http://www.dopenedes.es Official Penedès "Denominación de Orígen" website] (in English, Spanish & Catalan)
* [http://www.crcava.es/ "Consejo Regulador de Cava" - Cava DO Regulator website] (in English, Spanish & Catalan)
* [http://www.vilafranca.cat/html/welcome/index.html Vilafranca official site: English version]