Arlanza is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) located in the provinces of

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...

and

Palencia Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia. Located in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half o ...

, 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 ...

. It was officially upgraded from the lower status of QWPSR (''VCPRD'' in Spanish) in 2007. The DOP covers 67 municipalities (54 in the province of Burgos and 13 in the province of Palencia). There are 23 wineries (''bodegas'') from Burgos registered and 2 from Palencia. The DOP takes its name from the

river Arlanza The Arlanza River rises in the Sierra de la Demanda, near Quintanar de la Sierra in an area known as Fuente Sanza. As it flows through the province of Burgos, Spain, it passes through the municipalities of Castrovido, Salas de los Infantes, ...

which flows through it.

History

The first written evidence of wine production in this area comes from the 12th century, when the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

of Santa María de Bujedo de Juarros ( es) purchased vineyards on the banks of the rivers Arlanza and

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 ...

. When the phylloxera virus devastated the vineyards of Europe at the end of the 19th century, almost all the vineyards in this area were uprooted and replanted by grafting onto American

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 a ...

. By the 1920s the replanting had been completed.

Climate

The climate is Continental, with long hot, dry summers and cold winters. In addition there is a sharp contrast between the daytime and night-time temperatures.

Grapes

The authorized white varieties are

Albillo Albillo or Albillo Real is a white Spanish wine grape varietyAlbillo Real
,

Viura Macabeo, also called Viura or Macabeu (, ), is a white variety of wine grape. It is widely grown in the Rioja region of northeastern Spain, the Cava producing areas south of Barcelona, and the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. S ...

while the authorized red varieties are Tempranillo / Tinta del País, Garnacha, Mencía, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and

Petit Verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...

. The minimum planting density is 2,000 vines/ha, whether planted as low individual vines (''en vaso'') or on trellises (''en espaldera''). The maximum permitted yields are 10,000 kg/ha for white varieties, and 7,000 kg/ha for red varieties.

References

External links

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