Tarragona is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) (''Denominació d'Origen Protegida'' in Catalan) for

Catalan wine Catalan wines are those that are produced in the wine regions of Catalonia. Occasionally, the appellation is applied to some French wine made in the Catalan people, Catalan region of Roussillon and neighboring areas, also known as Northern Catalon ...

s, located in the province of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

(

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) and covers two distinct areas: the

Camp de Tarragona Camp de Tarragona () is a Natural region, natural and historical region, as well as one of the nine Vegueries of Catalonia, regions (''vegueries'') of Catalonia. It is the third most populated region, with 536,453 inhabitants as of 2022. The re ...

and the

Ribera d'Ebre Ribera d'Ebre () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It extends to both sides of the Ebre river between the reservoir of Riba-roja and Miravet. It belongs to the Terres de l'Ebre Terres de l'Ebre (, in English 'Ebro, Ebre Lands') is t ...

''comarca'' (district).

History

Tarragona has been renowned for its sweet red wines since the times of the

ancient Romans The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman ...

, when it was exported to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The area under vines expanded greatly in the nineteenth century to the point that in 1900 over 50% of the province was covered by vineyards. It was badly affected by the outbreak of the

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...

plague at that time. In 1932 the wines from the area were given a form of legal protection, and in 1945 it acquired DO status.

Geography

The vineyards are located along the coast and extend inland towards the border with the province of

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

. There are two official sub-zones: Camp de Tarragona is the largest one containing 70% of the vines and extending around the north and east of Tarragona in a radius of 30 km, at an altitude of around 200 m above sea level. The second sub-zone, Ribera d’Ebre, is located to the south and west of Tarragona. The vines here are on small plateaus on the banks of the

River Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an boxing the compass, east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean ...

at an altitude of between 100 m to 400 m above sea level.

Soils

In Camp de Taragona, the soils are dark with a considerable content of lime, while the sub soil is alluvial. In Ribera d’Ebre the soils are fertile and alluvial in nature, especially if close to the river.

Climate

The climate is

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

with continental influences in the higher part of the Ebro river valley. Annual rainfall varies between 475 mm in Camp de Tarragona and 650 mm in the Ribera d’Ebre. The average annual temperature is 16 °C (max 35 °C in summer, min 3 °C in winter). The risk of frost is very slight.

Authorised Grape Varieties

The authorised grape varieties are: * Red: Ull de llebre, Sumoll, Carinenya, Garnatxa Negra,

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

Pinot Noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

, and

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

* White:

Macabeu Macabeo, also called Viura or Macabeu (, ), is a white variety of wine grape. It is widely grown in the Rioja region of northeastern Spain, the Cava producing areas south of Barcelona, and the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. Spanis ...

, Cartoixà / Xarel·lo,

Parellada Parellada () is a Spanish white grape variety of Catalan origin specially grown in Catalonia, Spain. With Macabeu and Xarel·lo, it is one of the three traditional varieties used to make the sparkling wine Cava, which is primarily produced in ...

, Moscatel de Frontignan, Moscatell d’Alejandria, Garnatxa Blanca, Malvasía de Sitges, Subirat Parent / Malvasia, Xarel·lo Vermell, Sumoll Blanc,

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

Sauvignon Blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...

, and Vinyater The older vines are planted as low bushes (''en vaso'') while the newer ones are on trellises (''en espaldera''). In both cases they are planted at intervals of 1.4 m between vines and 2.8 m between rows (marco real).

Wines produced

Most wineries in Tarragona DOP now produce and bottle modern reds, whites, and rosés. Only a few still produce the traditional wines: *''Rancios'' (rancid) wines are left out in the sun in glass demijohns and are then aged for at least four years in oak barrels *''Tarragona Clásico'' (Classic Tarragona) is made with 100% very ripe Tempranillo grapes, and is fermented until it attains a maximum of 17% alcohol. It is then aged for twelve years in oak containers of up to a maximum capacity of 2,000 litres. Sometimes the solera system is used. *Sweet dessert wine is aged for five to ten years in vats, oak casks or in the bottle.

References

External links

DOP Tarragona Official Website
{{Authority control Catalan wine Wine regions of Spain Appellations Wine classification