Penedès () is a

natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...

and

historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic, linguistic or political basis, regardless of latterday borders. They are used as delimitations for studying and analysing soc ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. It is located in the south of the Principality of Catalonia between the pre-coastal mountain range (''Serralada Pre-litoral'') and the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. The comarcal division of the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label= Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...

in 1936 and 1987, divided Penedès into three administrative comarques:

Alt Penedès Alt Penedès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, northern Spain. The capital is Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spani ...

, Baix Penedès and Garraf, and their capitals are

Vilafranca del Penedès Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanish spelling of the name, ''Villafranca del Panadés'', is no longer in official use since 1982 (Law 12/1982, of ...

el Vendrell El Vendrell () is a town located in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, in the wine-growing region of Penedès. It is wedged between the Mediterranean and the coastal range. El Vendrell is the capital of the Baix Penedès '' comarca'' an ...

and

Vilanova i la Geltrú Vilanova i la Geltrú () is the capital city of Garraf '' comarca'', in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Historically a fishing port, the city has a growing population of approximately 66,000, and is situated 40 km south-west of ...

. From the historical point of view, Penedès was since the start of the ninth century a border region inside the

county of Barcelona The County of Barcelona ( la, Comitatus Barcinonensis, ca, Comtat de Barcelona) was originally a frontier region under the rule of the Carolingian dynasty. In the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona became progressively independent, heredi ...

, which had its center in the former military town Olèrdola, fortified again because of the Christian advance in 929. Olèrdola lost its defensive significance and the capital in the second half of the twelfth century and then Vilafranca del Penedès became the capital. During the thirteenth century formed the

Vegueria The ''vegueria'' (; pl. ''vegueries'') was the feudal administrative territorial jurisdiction of the Principality of Catalonia (to the Crown of Aragon) during the Middle Ages and into the Modern Era until the Nueva Planta decrees of 1716. T ...

of Vilafranca including all Penedès and most of Anoia as the sots-vegueria of Igualada. The provincial division of 1833 divided the region between the provinces of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, which includes

and Garraf, and the

province of Tarragona Tarragona (, ) is a province of eastern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Castellón, Teruel, Zaragoza, Lérida and Barcelona and by the Mediterranean Sea. The province's ...

, which includes Baix Penedès.GGCC, Penedès
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Wine production

Penedès is a wine-producing region having a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) (''Denominació d'Origen Protegida'' in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

). Penedès DOP includes all Penedès region and municipalities of four other comarques:

Anoia Anoia () is a comarca (county) in central Catalonia, Spain, with its capital at Igualada. The comarca of l'Anoia is irrigated by the Anoia River; the leading industry is the making of paper. To the north are Solsonès and Bages, to the west, ...

Alt Camp Alt Camp () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the three comarques into which Camp de Tarragona was divided in the comarcal division of 1936. Geography Alt Camp is a county in the province of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. T ...

Baix Llobregat Baix Llobregat () is a comarca (county) on the coast of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Sant Feliu de Llobregat. Municipalities Proposed changes It has long been proposed to split the northern part of Baix Llobregat into a separate comarca. ...

and

Tarragonès Tarragonès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the three comarques formed in the 1936 comarcal division of Camp de Tarragona. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, between the comarques of Baix Penedès to the northeast a ...

. The area is framed by the coastal hills of the Serra del Garraf and the higher inland mountains which skirt the

Catalan Central Depression The Catalan Central Depression ( ca, Depressió Central Catalana) is a natural depression between the Pre-Pyrenees and the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range in Spain. It widens towards the west, linking with the Ebro Depression, ca, Depressió de l'E ...

. 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 Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. Perhaps better-known for its Cava production, a

sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...

which has had its own ''Denominació d'Origen'' since 1986, white

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

varieties predominate, although the region also produces some highly regarded, oak-aged reds.

References

External links

Official Penedès "Denominación de Orígen" website

"Consejo Regulador de Cava" - Cava DO Regulator website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penedes Natural regions Functional territorial sections of Catalonia

Wine production

See also

References

External links