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| Raise a glass to Andalucia and its exquisite wines. |
ANDALUCIA WINE
There are over 40.000 Hectares of vineyards in Andalucia. Over half of the wine in Andalucia is produced in four "Denominación de Origen" (DO) areas (equivalent to France's Appellation d'origine controllée).
Málaga province has long been famous for its sweet fortified wines, made from the Moscatel and Pedro Ximenez grape varieties. From the Phoenicians in the eighth century BC, the Greeks and Romans… More →
Columbus set forth for his historical voyage from the port of Palos, in the western Andalusian province of Huelva. The navigator took with him his dreams of discovery. His crew, who came from… More →
Montilla-Moriles, located in the south of the Andalucian province of Córdoba, is one of the historical wine regions of Spain. The wine here has certain similarities with the Sherry of Jerez, but… More →
Few things can beat Sherry as a pre-meal aperitif. Ever since Sir Francis Drake ransacked the port of Cádiz in 1587 and made off with 3,000 barrels of Sherry, the British have been addicted to the… More →
Wineries are located throughout this region and many of the larger companies offer tours of the facility via guides that explain the processes involved and can answer your questions regarding how… More →
In most wine-growing districts of Andalucia and Spain, the vintage or grape harves begins on the feast of St Matthew (21st September). In Jerez it starts officially on 8th September, the feast of… More →
With a wine-making tradition spanning more than 2000 years and with more vineyard acreage than any other country in the world, Spain is producing wines of increasingly good quality. There are… More →
There are over 40.000 Hectares of vineyards in Andalucia. Over half of the wine in Andalucia is produced in four "Denominación de Origen" (DO) areas (equivalent to France's Appellation d'origine… More →
Step out of the Andalusian sunshine. Just follow the crowds through this little doorway, into the cool interior of a typical bodega or wine bar. Multi-coloured tiles line the walls while clay-… More →
Jerez
Andalucia produces one of the most famous wines in the world, Sherry, from winyards in the 'Sherry triangle' of the three towns; Jerez de la Frontera - Sanlúcar de Barrameda - Sanlucar de Barrameda in the province of Cádiz
Malaga and Sierras de Malaga
Traditionally the sweet Malaga desert wines from La Axarquia east of Malaga and also Manilva in the west.
'The Ronda Wines'
Since the begining of he 2000s innovative vintners are producing interesting red and white table wines in the 'Sierras de Malaga' mainly around Ronda and the Serrania de Ronda producing what are popularly known as 'The Ronda Wines.
Montilla Moriles
Traditionally sweet desert wines and fortified wines but nowadays also includes a wider range of production from this area in Cordoba province.
Condado de Huelva
A selection of dry and sweet white wines from Huelva province.
In addition to the above there are several smaller wine making districts called "Comarcas Vinícolas".
History of AndaluciaN Wine
Nobody knows when wine-making was first introduced to Andalusia. It could have been brought there by the Greeks 2,500 years ago or even earlier, by seafaring Phoenician traders from the east. What we do know for sure is that by the time of the Romans wine was being made in Andalusia in a big way, and the activity has continued more or less uninterruptedly ever since. Wine was appreciated even during the centuries of Moorish domination: the Koran frowns on the consumption of alcohol, but the Moors made wine and imbibed it with gusto, for "medicinal" purposes. They even introduced the technique of distilling into Spain. The Spanish word for still, alambique, is Arabic in origin, as is the English and Spanish word, "alcohol".
From the 15th century onwards, Andalusian wines were shipped to appreciative drinkers elsewhere in Europe, particularly England, where there was a great fondness for Sack (as Sherry was called) and sweet wines from Málaga. This happy situation prevailed until the 19th century when European vineyards were affected by oidium (a fungus), followed by an even more devastating plague of Phylloxera, the American vine root louse, which first appeared in Bordeaux in 1868 and spread to Jerez and Málaga 20 years later. Jerez's vineyards were replanted with plague-resistant American rootstock, but some areas never fully recovered.