The autonomous region in the south of Spain (Spanish: Andalucía) covers 87,583 km² and is divided into the eight provinces of Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and Sevilla. It is surrounded to the east by the region of Murcia and to the north by the regions of Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha. In Spain's oldest wine region, the Phoenicians founded the harbour town of Gadir (Cádiz) as early as 1,100 BC and exported wine. Even during the 700-year reign of the Moors until the end of the 15th century, wine continued to be produced here to a limited extent, but mainly sultanas.
The Moors transformed the area into a large garden and it was referred to as "paradise on earth". Jerez was taken from the Moors much earlier than the rest of Andalusia in 1264 and high-alcohol wines were produced in the style of sherry. From the 16th century onwards, there was also an economic decline in viticulture, and it was not until the advent of tourism in the early 1950s that there was a major upturn.
Andalusia is the hottest part of Spain with a Mediterranean climate. The westerly winds from the Atlantic provide cooling. There is an average of 3,000 hours of sunshine a year. The steep slopes and gentle hills are very favourable for viticulture. The limestone, clay and sandstone soils provide valuable minerals and also store heat and moisture, releasing it to the vines at night during dry periods.
The vineyards cover 32,000 hectares of vines in flat coastal areas up to 1,000 metres above sea level. White wine varieties dominate, the most important being Palomino, Pedro Ximénez, Moscatel (Muscat Blanc) and Zalema. The most important red wine varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Tempranillo.
There are 7 DO areas, one VCIG (quality wines) and 16 IGP areas (country wines):
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Thorsten Rahn
Restaurantleiter, Sommelier, Weindozent und Autor; Dresden