Arribes is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines located in the southeast of the province of Zamora and the northeast of the province of

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

( Castile and León,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

), along the border with

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

on the banks of the River

Duero The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part of ...

. In 2002 the area covered by the DOP along with parts of Portugal on the opposite bank was declared a Natural Park, Parque Natural de Arribes del Duero.

History

There are two theories regarding the origins of winemaking in the Arribes region. The first says that it was the ancient Romans who introduced grape-growing and wine-making. The second theory says it could have been the

Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

at a much earlier date, making use of their fleets along the

and the port of

Oporto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...

. In 1998, the area was awarded the category of Vino de la Tierra and on 27 July 2005, it was awarded the higher category of Denominación de Origen. The name Arribes derives from the Latin ''ad ripam'', which means 'on the banks' (of the river Duero).

Climate

The area enjoys a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

with Atlantic influences. Rainfall is evenly spread over the year. Summers tend to be warm and dry while winters are mild.

Soils

The soils are not deep, mostly sandy with loose

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

and

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...

pebbles. There are many rocky outcrops and the soil is generally poor in organic matter. The subsoil provides good drainage, and an interesting heat regulation mechanism. The presence of slate in the subsoil acts as a heat accumulator during the day and releases it slowly during the night.

Vineyards

The authorized planting density is a minimum of 2,000 vines/hectare; the maximum authorized yield id 10,000 kg/ha for white varieties and 7,000 kg/ha for red varieties. The vines are mostly old vines (65 years on average) and so are mostly grown as low bushes (''en vaso''), though recently planted ones tend to be on trellises (''en espaldera''). Average yield is 3,500 kg/ha, or about 1.5 kg/vine.http://www.jcyl.es/scsiau/Satellite/up/ds/AgriculturaGanaderia/pdf;charset=UTF-8/854/622/Orden%20Arribes.pdf/_?asm=jcyl

Grape varieties

The authorized red varieties are:

Tempranillo Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del Pais 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 its ...

(known as

Tinta Serrana Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del Pais 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 its ...

Tinto Madrid Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del Pais 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 its ...

locally), Juan García, Rufete,

Garnacha Tinta Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world.Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditio ...

, Mencía, Bruñal / Albarín Tinto The authorized white varieties are: Malvasía Castellana / Doña Blanca, Albillo Mayor, Albillo Real,

Verdejo Verdejo is a variety of wine grape that has long been grown in the Rueda region of Spain. The grape originated in North Africa, and was spread to Rueda in about the 11th Century, possibly by Mozarabs. Verdejo was generally used to make a strongl ...

Wines produced

* Tinto joven (young reds): made mainly with Jaun García, Rufete and

* Tinto Crianza (oak aged reds): at least 6 months in oak, plus 18 months in bottle * Rosado (rosé): at least 60% Juan García, Rufete and

* Blanco (white): at least 60%

Malvasía Malvasia (, also known as Malvazia) is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world ...

References

External links

D.O. Arribes official website
{{Spanish wine regions Wine regions of Spain