Overview
Whether you are a seasoned fine wine aficionado or simply a lover of the grape looking to enjoy, Andalusia is the place for you. Join a small group to enjoy this wonderful insight into Spanish wines with your local host,
Dates
4th September 2024
From the historic sherries of Jerez, to the up-and-coming new vineyards in Ronda and Granada province, Andalusia boasts numerous top-quality wines. There are over 40,000 hectares of vineyards planted in 20 regions with over half of the wine production concentrated over 4 major ‘Denomination de Origen’ (D.O. areas or the equivalent to France’s Appellation d’origins Controllee). On this tour, we will explore 3 of these D.O. spread over 4 different regions:
1. Axarquía (Malaga province) belonging to the D.O. Sierras de Malaga
2. Montilla (Córdoba province) belonging to the D.O. Montilla-Moriles
3. Ronda (Malaga province) belonging to the D.O. Sierras de Málaga
4. Jérez (Cádiz province) belonging to the D.O Sherry
Wine in Andalusia has come a long way since 1100 BC when the Phoenicians first planted their vineyards in the fertile lands of Cadiz. By Roman times, wine was being produced in Andalusia in a big way and interestingly enough, this continued through Moorish times; despite the fact that the Koran discourages the consumption of alcohol, some found creative ways to interpret the Koran’s words on wine, providing some justification such as medicinal purposes. 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 then) and sweet wines from Malaga. This continued until the 19th century, when European vineyards were affected by the Oidium fungus (Powdery Mildew), followed by an even more devastating plague of Phylloxera (American vine root louse), which first appeared in Bordeaux in 1868 and spread to South Spain 20 years later. As a result, vineyards were replanted with plague-resistant American rootstock, while some, sadly, never fully recovered.