Valencia Flashcards
List four things called Valencia
Region
Province
City
DO
Comunidad Valenciana is bordered by?
NE: Cataluña
NW: Aragón
W: Castilla-La Mancha
SW: Murcia
E: Mediterranean Sea
Name the three provinces of Comunidad Valenciana
N: Castellón
C: Valencia
S: Alicante
Name the capital, largest city in Comunidad Valenciana
Valencia (815k 17%
3rd largest in Spain)
Climate generally of Comunidad Valenciana?
Mediterranean
What are winter and summer like in Comunidad Valenciana?
mild winter (down to 10ºC)
hot summer (up to 35-40ºC)
Contrast Comunidad Valenciana’s coastal and inland climates
Coast: moderated by sea breezes
Inland: continental influences, larger diurnal range (better wine)
Which named wind affects Comunidad Valenciana? Where is it from? What is it like? When does it blow?
Leveche
Originates in Sahara
Hot dry dusty, picking up moisture over Mediterranean
Mainly in springtime
Rainfall in Comunidad Valenciana?
Low: 250-400mm
but torrential downpours
What is precipitation like in Comunidad Valenciana in the four seasons?
Rain in autumn and winter
Drought risk in summer
Hailstorm risk in autumn
Torrential downpour risk (grapes may swell, crack, rot)
Outline the topography of Comunidad Valenciana
Coastal strip: fertile plain
Inland: more mountainous
Inland, Comunidad Valenciana meets the eastern ends of which two mountain ranges?
Bonus: which provinces have the highest peaks? Name the highest?
Sistema Ibérico
Sistema Bético / Cordilleras Béticas
Castellón and Valencia provinces
Pico Calderón 1,838m
What are the two main rivers in Comunidad Valenciana? Where do they originate? Why are other rivers not listed?
Júcar (Castilla-La Mancha)
Segura (Andalucía)
Other rivers are small and run dry in summer
Are the soils of Comunidad Valenciana diverse or similar?
Diverse
What soils are found in Comunidad Valenciana’s coastal, and inland areas?
Coastal: marl, clay, sandstone
Inland: Limestone, loamy-sand
Which red grapes is Comunidad Valenciana known for? And which white grape is significant?
Bobal
Monastrell
Moscatel de Alejandría
True/false: Bobal takes well to carbonic maceration
True
In Comunidad Valenciana, why is Monastrell often blended? What with?
Prone to acid drop in warm areas
Small amounts of Garnacha Tintorera
In Comunidad Valenciana, what unique style of Monastrell is made? In which DO?
Fondillón
DO Alicante
Historically, Comunidad Valenciana was known for high quality wines. What happened to change that?
Phylloxera and depopulation
20C bulk wine
Since 1990s investing for quality
When was DO Alicante in Valencia listed as a DO? What is unusual about its Consejo Regulador?
Original 1932 DO list
Consejo Regulador not officially organised until 1957
In Valencia, in DO Alicante, what proportion of vineyard plantings are Monastrell?
75%
In Valencia, in DO Alicante, what is the minimum Monastrell content of vinos tintos?
80%
Contrast the coastal vs inland styles of Monastrell in DO Alicante in Valencia
Coastal: fresh, moderate colour, soft tannin
Inland: meatier, concentrated, deeper colour, generous alcohol
Name the two subzones of DO Alicante in Valencia. How do they differ? What are their best known grapes?
NE: La Marina, humid but little rain, Moscatel de Alejandría
SW: Vinalopó, mountainous, Monastrell
DO Alicante in Valencia is famed for Fondillón, protected under EU wine law as a ‘traditional term’ for unique production and ageing. What are its characteristics? How many wineries make it? How long can it age?
Over-ripe Monastrell (years with long summers, low humidity).
16%+ abv without fortification, and with residual sugar.
Oxidised for 10 years in solera, of oak casks as large as 1,200L.
Only 8 wineries make it.
The best can age over a century.
For how long has wine been made around the villages of Utiel and Requena in Valencia?
Over 2,000 years
What wine is DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia best known for?
Vino tinto from Bobal
Which modern-day DO in Spain is Bobal indigenous to?
DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia
In DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia, what proportion of the vineyard is Bobal? of production?
71% of vineyard
80% of production
The Valencian Institute of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, with UNESCO, are working to have DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia designated as a…? What will the designation be?
…as a cultural landscape of Europe (Paisaje Cultural de la Vid y el Vino).
“Territorio Bobal”
In DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia, 50% of the vines exceed what age? The oldest date from?
40yo
Early 1900s
DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia has a unique vinification technique (also used in neighbouring DO Manchuela). What is it called? How does it work? How prevalent is it?
Doble pasta
Skins and pulp from Bobal rosado production are added to fermenting Bobal must, double macerating it for highly extracted, tannic vino tinto.
Uncommon but still done
Apart from DO Cava (in the case of vinos espumosos), what other DO can producers in DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia label their wine as? How much of their production?
DO Valencia
up to 30%
Are vinos tintos from DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia typically single or blend? Which grape if single? What blend?
Typically single from Bobal.
Blends of Bobal with Tempranillo and/or international varieties.
What is varietal Bobal from DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia like?
Refreshing
Crisp acidity
Moderate alcohol
Moderately chewy tannins
Fresh herbs / red fruit
May be barrel aged
Are there any Vinos de Pago in DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia?
Two wineries (Chozas Carrascal, Tharsys) have regional but not yet EU approval. They make estate wines, DO Utiel-Requena, and DO Cava.
Name the three DOs of Comunidad Valenciana
DO Alicante
DO Utiel-Requena
DO Valencia
Which DO in Comunidad Valenciana has the highest percentage of vinos tintos?
DO Utiel-Requena (78%, vs DO Alicante 68%, DO Valencia 53%)
In Comunidad Valenciana, which of the following does not have limestone soil? What does it have?
DO Alicante: La Marina
DO Alicante: Vinalopó
DO Utiel-Requena
DO Alicante: La Marina
Clay
Which of DO Alicante and DO Utiel-Requena, in Comunidad Valenciana, has a climate of:
Mediterranean with continental influences?
Continental with Mediterranean influences?
DO Alicante: Mediterranean with continental influences
DO Utiel-Requena: Continental with Mediterranean influences
Which has the higher rainfall in Comunidad Valenciana: DO Alicante or DO Utiel-Requena?
DO Utiel-Requena 400mm
(DO Alicante 250mm)
Which has the higher elevation in Comunidad Valenciana: DO Alicante or DO Utiel-Requena?
DO Utiel-Requena 600-900m
(DO Alicante 0-600m)
Which has the larger vineyard in Comunidad Valenciana: DO Alicante or DO Utiel-Requena?
DO Utiel-Requena 34,510 ha
(DO Alicante 10,379 ha)
According to archeological sites in Comunidad Valenciana, how long ago was wine being used for religious and funeral rituals? By which tribe?
6C BCE
Iberians
The Moors introduced irrigation technology, but what else enabled this to work?
Regulatory court system ‘Tribunal of the Waters’. (HQ is still active in the city of Valencia.)
Which part of Valencia region had a regulatory body to protect the reputation of its wines in the 16-17C?
Alicante
What factors led to depopulation of Valencia in the 18-19C?
Labour migrated to the booming west coast
War of Spanish Succession (14y)
19C Carlist Wars
What year did phylloxera reach Valencia? What happened?
1907
Phylloxera didn’t reach western Valencia.
But other regions had already replanted and took Valencia’s markets. Some vineyards were replanted (Bobal, Monastrell, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah) but many were never replanted.
