Navarra is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines from the southern half of the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

(

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

''Navarra'',

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

''Nafarroa''). The vineyards are on the lower slopes of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

as they descend towards the basin 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 east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

. The region used to be renowned only for its rosado wines but in recent years has been producing quality reds and whites as well.

History

The earliest historical data on grape growing and wine production in Navarra dates from the 2nd century BC, when 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 ...

built wineries (''bodegas''). Remains of winery equipment and installations have been found at the archaeological excavations in Arellano ( Villa de la Musas), Falces, Lumbier and Muruzábal de Andion ( Villa de Andelos). In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, when Navarre was a powerful independent kingdom with close ties to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

prospered, partly due to the demand from the pilgrims on the ''Camino de Santiago'' ( Way of St. James). In the 12th century, the wine from Navarre was recommended to pilgrims in guidebooks, and was also exported abroad. Towards the end of the 18th century viticulture was the main agricultural activity of the region. In 1855 there was an outbreak of oidium which affected wine production, three years after a similar outbreak in the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

(France) region. However, in 1892, 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 devastated the vineyards, destroying an estimated 98% of the 50,000 ha of vines planted at that time. At the beginning of the 20th century, the vineyards were replanted by grafting onto

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

rootstock A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to ...

. Wine cooperatives were formed and successfully increased production by exporting large quantities of wine in bulk. During the 1980s private wineries and cooperatives began bottling and labelling quality wine. The statutes of the Denominación de Origen, which were originally approved in 1933, have been updated to reflect the shift of emphasis from bulk production to quality production.

Geography

The DOP is divided into 5 sub-zones, each one of which has a distinct identity and produces characteristic wines.

Valdizarbe

Valdizarbe, the northernmost sub-zone on the upper reaches of the Arga River is a strategic location on the Way of St. James as several paths crossing Navarre converge there. The vineyards cover 25 different municipalities.

Tierra Estella

To the west of Valdizarbe, Tierra Estella covers 38 different municipalities and extends along the Way of St. James in Western Navarre, on the middle reaches of the Ega River.

Ribera Alta

The Ribera Alta sub-zone is centred on the town of Olite on the left bank of the river Ebro, above the lower reaches of the rivers Arga, Ega and Aragón, and covers 26 municipalities.

Baja Montaña

This sub-zone covers 22 municipalities and is located in the northeast of the DOP, on the middle reaches of the river Aragón.

Ribera Baja

The Ribera Baja sub-zone is in the south of Navarre and is the most important of the five in terms of area and number of wineries. It covers 14 different municipalities, all on a dry, sandy plain on the right bank of the river Ebro.

Climate

The climate in Navarra is continental (long, hot, dry summers and cold winters). The northern sub-zones have a dry continental climate with Atlantic influences and with only moderate heat during the period when the grapes are ripening, as the nights start to get cooler during the month of August. Average rainfall in the DOP is 625 mm per year. In the areas at higher altitudes, there is the occasional risk of frost and of violent storms.

Authorised Grape Varieties

The authorised grape varieties are: * Red:

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 ...

, Garnacha Tinta,

Graciano Graciano is a Spanish red wine grape that is grown primarily in Rioja. The vine produces a low yield that are normally harvested in late October. The wine produced is characterized by its deep red color, strong aroma and ability to age ...

, Mazuelo,

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 ...

Tempranillo Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del País in Spain, Aragonez or Tinta Roriz in Portugal, and several other synonyms elsewhere) is a black grape variety widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in it ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

* White:

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 ...

, Garnatxa Blanca, Malvasía, Moscatel de Grano Menudo, Viura / Macabeo, and

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 ...

Most vines are trained along trellises (''en espaldera'') to maximize exposure to the sunlight and to facilitate mechanization, as opposed to being planted as low bushes (''en vaso''). Planting density is over 2,400 vines/ha. Yield in all five sub-zones is below the authorized maximum of 8,000 kh/ha, and vary between 6,200 kg/ha in Valdizarbe and 7,800 kg/ha in the south.

References

External links

DOP Navarra official website
Wine regions of Spain Appellations Wine classification {{coord, 42, 28, 52, N, 1, 39, 2, E, source:cawiki_region:ES-CT_type:adm2nd, display=title