Bierzo is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines located in the northwest of the province of León ( 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 ...

) and covers about 3,000 km². It borders on the provinces of Ourense, Lugo and

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

in the north and in the south on areas of La Montaña, la Cabrera and La Meseta, in Léon. The area consists of numerous small valleys in the mountainous part ( Alto Bierzo) and of a wide, flat plain ( Bajo Bierzo). The DO covers 23 municipalities including the largest town of the area,

Ponferrada Ponferrada () is a city of Spain, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Ponferrada, the second most populated municipality of the Province of León, is also the capital city of El Bierzo, the only ''comarca'' recognized as a ...

(population about 70,000).

History

The first written reference to the Bierzo region, whose name derives from the pre-Roman city of Bergidum, is from

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

. The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

developed agriculture, introduced new crops including ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curr ...

'' vines, and new technology such as the Roman plough. However, the greatest expansion of viticulture was related to the growth of the monasteries, especially the Cistercian order, during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. After centuries of production and after having achieved a good reputation in the markets of Galicia and

, the Bierzo vineyards suffered a terrible blow in the 19th century when the phylloxera plague practically wiped them out. There was a severe economic crisis which forced many people to emigrate. Production was slowly re-established thanks to the technique of grafting onto new world

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 ...

s and wine production gradually recovered to assume the significant economic role it had played in the past. In 1989 the Bierzo Denominación de Origen was officially recognised.

Climate

The Bierzo DOP has a special

macroclimate In viticulture, there are several levels of regional climates that are used to describe the '' terroir'' or immutable characteristics of an area. These levels can be as broad as a macroclimate which includes entire wine regions or as small as a mi ...

which is beneficial for viticulture. On the one hand it is similar to the climate of Galicia with regard to humidity and rainfall, and on the other it is also similar to the hot, dry climate of Castile. The low altitude also helps to prevent late frosts and means that the grape harvest is usually about one month earlier than in Castile. The average annual temperature is around 12°C, with the minimum in winter of 3.5°C and maximum in summer of 24°C. The average annual rainfall is just over 700 mm, and the vines receive about 2,200 hours of sunshine per annum.

Soils

The soils in the mountains consist of a mixture of fine elements,

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 ...

and slate. The vineyards are planted mainly on humid, dark soil which is slightly acidic and low in carbonates. The acidity ranges from 4 to 8.5, with values of over 6 in the valleys. Lime content is low, less than 3000 kg/ha. The carbon/nitrogen ratio is 11.9 in the valleys and 11 on the plains.

Grape varieties

The wines produced under the Bierzo DPO must be made only with the varieties that are authorised by the Consejo Regulador (Regulatory Council). *Red grapes: Mencía and

Alicante Bouschet Alicante Bouschet or Alicante Henri Bouschet is a wine grape variety that has been widely cultivated since 1866. It is a cross of Petit Bouschet (itself a cross of the very old variety Teinturier du Cher and Aramon) and Grenache.Doña Blanca,

Godello Godello is a white variety of wine grape grown in northwestern Spain, in particular in Galicia. The Gouveio found in northern Portugal is thought to be the same grape variety. The origins of Godello variety are located in the town of Godella ...

, Palomino, and

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 ...

Wines produced

# Young whites: Made with Doña Blanca, Godello and Palomino. Between 10° and 13°. # Young reds: Made with a minimum of 70% Mencía. Between 11° and 14°. # Aged wines without crianza: the vintage must be shown on the label and certain criteria complied with. # Rosé wines: made with a minimum of 50% Mencía and may contain white grapes. # ''Crianza'' wines: Minimum of 6 months in oak casks plus 18 months in the bottle. # ''Reserva'' wines: Minimum of 12 months in oak barrels plus 24 months in the bottle for red wines; minimum of 6 months in oak casks and 18 months in the bottle for whites.

References

External links

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