Valencia Flashcards

1
Q

List four things called Valencia

A

Region
Province
City
DO

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2
Q

Comunidad Valenciana is bordered by?

A

NE: Cataluña
NW: Aragón
W: Castilla-La Mancha
SW: Murcia
E: Mediterranean Sea

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3
Q

Name the three provinces of Comunidad Valenciana

A

N: Castellón
C: Valencia
S: Alicante

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4
Q

Name the capital, largest city in Comunidad Valenciana

A

Valencia, 815k 17%
3rd largest in Spain

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5
Q

Climate generally of Comunidad Valenciana?

A

Mediterranean

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6
Q

Comunidad Valenciana has winter temperatures as low as? Summer as high as?

A

winter down to 10ºC
summer up to 35-40ºC

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7
Q

Contrast Comunidad Valenciana’s coastal and inland climates

A

Coast: moderated by sea breezes
Inland: continental influences, larger diurnal range (better wine)

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8
Q

Which named wind affects Comunidad Valenciana? Where is it from? What is it like? When does it blow?

A

Leveche
Originates in Sahara
Hot dry dusty, picking up moisture over Mediterranean
Mainly in springtime

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9
Q

Rainfall in Comunidad Valenciana?

A

Low: 250-400mm
but torrential downpours

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10
Q

What is precipitation like in Comunidad Valenciana in the four seasons?

A

Rain in autumn and winter
Drought risk in summer
Hailstorm risk in autumn
Torrential downpour risk (grapes may swell, crack, rot)

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11
Q

Outline the topography of Comunidad Valenciana

A

Coastal strip: fertile plain
Inland: more mountainous

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12
Q

Inland, Comunidad Valenciana meets the eastern ends of which two mountain ranges?
Bonus: which provinces have the highest peaks? Name the highest?

A

Sistema Ibérico
Sistema Bético / Cordilleras Béticas

Castellón and Valencia provinces
Pico Calderón 1,838m

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13
Q

What are the two main rivers in Comunidad Valenciana? Where do they originate? Why are other rivers not listed?

A

Júcar (Castilla-La Mancha)
Segura (Andalucía)
Other rivers are small and run dry in summer

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14
Q

Name the estuary / national park south of the city of Valencia. What important things are in it?

A

L’Albufera de Valencia
Water fowl, rice production

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15
Q

Are the soils of Comunidad Valenciana diverse or similar?

A

Diverse

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16
Q

What soils are found in Comunidad Valenciana’s coastal, and inland areas?

A

Coastal: marl, clay, sandstone
Inland: Limestone, loamy-sand

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17
Q

Which red grapes is Comunidad Valenciana known for? And which white grape is significant?

A

Bobal
Monastrell

Moscatel de Alejandría

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18
Q

True/false: Bobal takes well to carbonic maceration

A

True

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19
Q

In Comunidad Valenciana, why is Monastrell often blended? What with?

A

Prone to acid drop in warm areas
Small amounts of Garnacha Tintorera

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20
Q

In Comunidad Valenciana, what unique style of Monastrell is made? In which DO?

A

Fondillón
DO Alicante

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21
Q

Historically, Comunidad Valenciana was known for high quality wines. What happened to change that?

A

Phylloxera and depopulation
20C bulk wine
Since 1990s investing for quality

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22
Q

When was DO Alicante in Valencia listed as a DO? What is unusual about its Consejo Regulador?

A

Original 1932 DO list
Consejo Regulador not officially organised until 1957

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23
Q

In Valencia, in DO Alicante, what proportion of vineyard plantings are Monastrell?

A

75%

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24
Q

In Valencia, in DO Alicante, what is the minimum Monastrell content of vinos tintos?

A

80%

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25
Q

Contrast the coastal vs inland styles of Monastrell in DO Alicante in Valencia

A

Coastal: fresh, moderate colour, soft tannin
Inland: meatier, concentrated, deeper colour, generous alcohol

26
Q

Name the two subzones of DO Alicante in Valencia. How do they differ? What are their best known grapes?

A

NE: La Marina, humid but little rain, Moscatel de Alejandría
SW: Vinalopó, mountainous, Monastrell

27
Q

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?

A

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.

28
Q

For how long has wine been made around the villages of Utiel and Requena in Valencia?

A

Over 2,000 years

29
Q

What wine is DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia best known for?

A

Vino tinto from Bobal

30
Q

Which modern-day DO in Spain is Bobal indigenous to?

A

DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia

31
Q

In DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia, what proportion of the vineyard is Bobal? of production?

A

71% of vineyard
80% of production

32
Q

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?

A

…as a cultural landscape of Europe (Paisaje Cultural de la Vid y el Vino).

“Territorio Bobal”

33
Q

In DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia, 50% of the vines exceed what age? The oldest date from?

A

40yo
Early 1900s

34
Q

DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia has a unique vinification technique. What is it called? How does it work? How prevalent is it?

A

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

35
Q

Apart from DO Cava, what other DO can producers in DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia label their wine as? How much of their production?

A

DO Valencia
up to 30%

36
Q

Are vinos tintos from DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia typically single or blend? Which grape if single? What blend?

A

Typically single from Bobal.

Blends of Bobal with Tempranillo and/or international varieties.

37
Q

What is varietal Bobal from DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia like?

A

Refreshing
Crisp acidity
Moderate alcohol
Moderately chewy tannins
Fresh herbs / red fruit
May be barrel aged

38
Q

Are there any Vinos de Pago in DO Utiel-Requena in Valencia?

A

Two wineries (Chozas Carrascal, Tharsys) have regional but not yet EU approval. They make estate wines, DO Utiel-Requena, and DO Cava.

39
Q

Name the three DOs of Comunidad Valenciana

A

DO Alicante
DO Utiel-Requena
DO Valencia

40
Q

Percentage vinos tintos in:
DO Alicante
DO Utiel-Requena

A

68%
78%

41
Q

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

A

DO Alicante: La Marina
Clay

42
Q

Which of DO Alicante and DO Utiel-Requena, in Comunidad Valenciana, has a climate of:
Mediterranean with continental influences?
Continental with Mediterranean influences?

A

DO Alicante: Mediterranean with continental influences

DO Utiel-Requena: Continental with Mediterranean influences

43
Q

Which has the higher rainfall in Comunidad Valenciana: DO Alicante or DO Utiel-Requena?

A

DO Utiel-Requena 400mm

(DO Alicante 250mm)

44
Q

Which has the higher elevation in Comunidad Valenciana: DO Alicante or DO Utiel-Requena?

A

DO Utiel-Requena 600-900m

(DO Alicante 0-600m)

45
Q

Which has the larger vineyard in Comunidad Valenciana: DO Alicante or DO Utiel-Requena?

A

DO Utiel-Requena 34,510 ha

(DO Alicante 10,379 ha)

46
Q

One of the world’s most significant Paleolithic finds was in Comunidad Valenciana. How old? Where? What?

A

28-11kya
Parpalló cave near the town of Gandía
over 5,000 decorated limestone plates and blocks, tools, worked bone

47
Q

According to archeological sites in Comunidad Valenciana, how long ago was wine being used for religious and funeral rituals? By which tribe?

A

6C BCE
Iberians

48
Q

How long did the Carthaginians settle and trade peacefully in Valencia before the Romans muscled in?

A

over 350 years

49
Q

In what year did Rome and Carthage sign a treaty dividing Spain between them? What was the dividing line? Treaty name? Who got which side? How long did the treaty last? Who broke it?

A

226 BCE
River Ebro
Treaty of the Ebro
N: Rome, S: Carthage
Rome broke it after two decades

50
Q

In what year did Romans found the city of Colonia Valentia Edetanorum (modern Valencia)? Why was this a good trading location?

A

138 BCE
on Via Augusta

51
Q

Who came to Valencia after the Romans? Then who, and when?

A

Visigoths
Moors in 711 CE

52
Q

The Moors introduced irrigation technology, but what else enabled this to work?

A

Regulatory court system ‘Tribunal of the Waters’. (HQ is still active in the city of Valencia.)

53
Q

Name some agricultural products and techniques introduced to Valencia by the Moors

A

oranges,
sugar cane
cotton
apricots
almonds
saffron
rice
livestock

fertilizer
pest control
grafting

54
Q

In which century did Christians drive the Moors out of Valencia? Who ruled Valencia then?

A

13C
Independent province under the Crown of Aragón

55
Q

In 1469, the city of Valencia was the most populous city in…?

A

the Iberian Peninsula

56
Q

What years were the expulsions of:
Jews?
remaining Moors?

A

1492
1609

57
Q

Which part of Valencia region had a regulatory body to protect the reputation of its wines in the 16-17C?

A

Alicante

58
Q

What factors led to depopulation of Valencia in the 18-19C?

A

Labour migrated to the booming west coast
War of Spanish Succession (14y)
19C Carlist Wars

59
Q

What year did phylloxera reach Valencia? What happened?

A

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.

60
Q

What happened in Valencia during the rise of Franco?

A

In 1936 the Second Spanish Republic moved its HQ to the city of Valencia. The provinces of Valencia and Alicante were the last two Republican holdouts before Franco took power.

61
Q

When was autonomous status for Comunidad Valenciana approved? What happened later in 2006?

A

1982

2006: officially recognised as an ‘historic nationality’