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Conca de Barberà is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) (''Denominació d'Origen Protegida'' in Catalan) for wines located in central Catalonia in the northern portion of the Tarragona Province. Situated within the river valleys of the Francolí and Anguera, it has historically been known for its white wines, but has been gaining more attention for its reds, especially those from the native
Trepat Trepat is a red Catalan wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Conca de Barberà and Costers del Segre '' Denominación de Origen'' (DO)s of Catalonia. Ampelographers believe that the grape is likely indigenous to Northeastern Iberian Pe ...
grape. Today, the Conca de Barberà DOP mainly produces red wines, along with whites, and minor amounts of rosés and sparkling wines.


History

It is highly probable that wine production was introduced by the ancient Romans but by the time of the
Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...
dominion of the Iberian peninsula it had all but disappeared from the Conca de Barberà area. As in many other wine producing regions, wine production took off again thanks to the influence of the monasteries founded in the Middle Ages, in this case the Monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet, near Montblanc which was then the third largest city of Catalonia. In the 12th century both the
Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...
and the monks from Poblet worked the vineyards. The wine was produced in the basement of the monastery and can be visited today. The period from the end of the 18th century to the mid 19th century was one of expansion for the area. Wines and spirits were exported to northern Europe and to the Americas and grapes became the dominant crop. In this period terraces were built on the mountainsides to increase the area under vines as much as possible. The railway connecting Montblanc to Reus on the coast was built in order to transport wine more rapidly and efficiently. The arrival of the
phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...
virus at the end of the 19th century marked the end of this boom period as most of the vineyards were devastated. However the comeback was spectacular. The Conca de Barberà area was the first in Catalonia, and in the rest of Spain, to form agricultural cooperatives based on grape growing and wine production. Thus in 1894 the grape growers of Barberà founded a syndicate for collective wine production. Under the direction of Joan Espulgas (a vintner who had learned how to combat the phylloxera virus in France) the syndicate undertook the project of replanting all the vineyards in the Conca area, by grafting onto phylloxera resistant New World rootstock. Success ensued and in 1903 the first cooperative winery in Spain was built in the town of Barberà. Conca de Barberà attained official DO status in 1985.


Geography

Most of the vineyards are located around the historic town of Montblanc, and the DOP covers a total of 14 municipalities in the north of the province of Tarragona: Barberà de la Conca, Blancafort, Conesa, L'Espluga de Francolí, Forès, Montblanc, Pira,
Rocafort de Queralt Rocafort de Queralt is a municipality and village in the comarca of Conca de Barberà in the province of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. The municipality has an area of 8.6 km. Its elevation is approximately 562m. Economic activity is mainly ...
, Sarral, Senan, Solivella, Vallclara, Vilaverd and Vimbodí i Poblet. The vineyards are planted in the valleys of the rivers Francolí and Anguera and are surrounded and protected by mountain ranges: the Serra de Montclar, Codony mountain and Serra de Comalats in the north, the
Serra de Miramar Serra (Latin for "saw") may refer to: People * Serra (footballer) (born 1961), Portuguese footballer * Serra (surname) * Serra (given name) Cities, towns, municipalities Brazil * Serra, Espírito Santo, a city in the Greater Vitória area *Amp ...
and Cogulló in the east, the
Serra de Prades Prades Mountains, also known as Muntanyes de Prades, is a large calcareous mountain massif straddling the comarcas of Alt Camp, Baix Camp, Conca de Barberà, Garrigues and Priorat, in Catalonia, Spain. They are a Site of Community Importance. The ...
in the south, and the Serra del Tallat and
Serra de Vilobí Serra (Latin for "saw") may refer to: People * Serra (footballer) (born 1961), Portuguese footballer * Serra (surname) * Serra (given name) Cities, towns, municipalities Brazil * Serra, Espírito Santo, a city in the Greater Vitória area *Amp ...
in the west. The land is mainly flat or slightly undulating at heights of between 350 and 600 m above sea level.


Soils

Most of the vines are on dark lime bearing soils, quite loose and poor in organic matter. Towards the foothills of the Sierra de Prades slate can be found in the rock.


Climate

The climate is temperate Mediterranean, with hot summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature is 14 °C with extremes of 35 °C in summer and -6 °C in winter. There is a risk of frost in spring for the vineyards at the highest altitudes. Rainfall is mainly in autumn and the average annual figure is around 500 mm. The mountain ranges protect the area from the wind, while the high altitude means that the summers are not too hot. Humidity is slightly higher than in neighboring DOP's. The vines receive around 2,500 hours of sunlight per year.


Authorised Grape Varieties

The authorised grape varieties are: * Red:
Trepat Trepat is a red Catalan wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Conca de Barberà and Costers del Segre '' Denominación de Origen'' (DO)s of Catalonia. Ampelographers believe that the grape is likely indigenous to Northeastern Iberian Pe ...
, Ull de llebre, Garnatxa Negra,
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 Lebanon' ...
,
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 ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...
, Monastrell,
Sumoll The Sumoll is a black grape variety. It is a rustic variety, native from the Penedès region in Catalonia (EU), drought resistant and with uniform development. The grape is long and big. It is used to produce red, white, rosé wines and cava (Cata ...
, 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 B ...
* Rosé:
Trepat Trepat is a red Catalan wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Conca de Barberà and Costers del Segre '' Denominación de Origen'' (DO)s of Catalonia. Ampelographers believe that the grape is likely indigenous to Northeastern Iberian Pe ...
* White: Xenin,
Sumoll Blanc Sumoll Blanc is a white grape variety, native to Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. Although it shares its name with the red grape variety Sumoll, it is genetically unrelated.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide ...
, Parellada, Macabeu, Garnatxa Blanca, Moscatell de Gra Petit, and
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 French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...
The older vines are planted as low bushes (''en got''), while the more recently planted ones are on trellises (''en espatllera'') to increase production. Planting density is around 2–2,500 vines per hectare, though the maximum authorized density is 4,500 vines/ha.


See also

* Catalan wine *
Trepat Trepat is a red Catalan wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Conca de Barberà and Costers del Segre '' Denominación de Origen'' (DO)s of Catalonia. Ampelographers believe that the grape is likely indigenous to Northeastern Iberian Pe ...


References


External links


D.O.P. Conca de Barberà official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conca de Barbera (DO) Wine regions of Spain Catalan wine