The Wineries of the Priorat region open their doors to you
Priorat is a Catalan »Denominació d’Origen Qualificada» (DOQ) in Catalan for wines produced in the Priorat county to the south-west of Catalonia.
The DOQ covers 11 municipalities. It primarily produces powerful red wines, which came to international attention in the 1990s. The area is characterised by its unique terroir of black slate and quartz soil known as llicorella.
It is one of only two wine regions in Spain to qualify as DOCa, the highest qualification level for a wine region according to Spanish wine regulations, alongside Rioja DOCa.
Priorat is the Catalan spelling, which is the one usually appearing on wine labels, while the Spanish spelling is Priorato.
The traditional grape variety grown in El Priorat is the red Garnacha tinta, which is found in all the older vineyards. Also authorized are the following red varieties: Garnacha Peluda, Cariñena, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Four white varieties are also authorized: Garnacha blanca, Macabeo, Pedro Ximénez and Chenin.
The trend among the red varieties is that Garnacha stays constant, Cariñena decreases and the international grape varieties increase. While Cabernet Sauvignon has always been in the lead among these, in recent years, Syrah has increased faster.
The Priorat Regional Tourist Office has organised visiting hours in Montsant and Priorat wineries. These wineries would like to share their excellent wines with you whilst showing you where they are making wines for the future.
www.turismepriorat.org/en/what-to-do/wine-route/
Foto:Rafael López
Foto:Rafael López
