Cigales is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines located to the north of

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

(

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...

, Spain) along both banks of the River

Pisuerga The Pisuerga is a river in northern Spain, the Duero's second largest tributary. It rises in the Cantabrian Mountains in the province of Palencia, autonomous region of Castile and León. Its traditional source is called Fuente Cobre, but it has b ...

. It includes several municipalities, including Valladolid itself, Dueñas, Cabezón de Pisuerga, Cigales, Corcos del Valle, Cubillas de Santa Marta,

Fuensaldaña Fuensaldaña is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,149 inhabitants. See also *Cuisine of the province of Valladolid ...

Mucientes Mucientes is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 632 inhabitants. See also *Cuisine of the province of Valladolid Th ...

, Quintanilla de Trigueros,

San Martín de Valvení San Martín de Valvení is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear rese ...

, Trigueros del Valle and Valoria la Buena. The DO has an extension of 574 km² and is at an altitude of 750 m above sea level. It is a relatively recent DO, having been created in 1991.

History

The first known inhabitants of this area were the

Vaccaei The Vaccaei or Vaccei were a pre-Roman Celtic people of Spain, who inhabited the sedimentary plains of the central Duero valley, in the Meseta Central of northern Hispania (specifically in Castile and León). Their capital was ''Intercatia'' in Pa ...

, who were subjugated by the ancient Romans in the 2nd century BC. As in the rest of the peninsula, the Romans introduced vines along with other agricultural innovations. The number of vineyards increased significantly 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 a ...

due to the influence of the monasteries.

Mary of Austria, Queen of Hungary Mary of Austria (15 September 1505 – 18 October 1558), also known as Mary of Hungary, was List of Hungarian consorts, queen of Hungary and List of Bohemian consorts, Bohemia as the wife of Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia, King Louis II, and ...

, died in Cigales in 1558, whereas her grandniece

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

, the future Queen of Spain was born there.

Climate

The Cigales DOP has a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

(long hot summers, cold winters) with an Atlantic maritime influence and strong temperature variations. Temperatures often fall below 0°C during the winter and there are usually frosts in spring, which represents a significant risk for the grape harvest, and can reach 40°C in summer. Rainfall is light, about 425 mm per annum, falling mostly in spring and autumn.

Soil

The soil is light brown in color and is formed by lime-bearing sand and gypsum-bearing clays, lying on a subsoil of clays and marls. Its structure is granular, weak, not very rocky and lacking in organic material.

Wines produced

Like other DOPs in the region, Cigales supplied Valladolid and other cities with wine during the Middle Ages. While Toro supplied red wine and Rueda white wine, Cigales specialised in

claret Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...

s and

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the skin contact method. ...

s. These wines were made until recently in underground cellars, which were often shared by small wine-makers (''bodegueros'') and which were excavated to depths of over 10 m.

Authorized grape varieties

* Red grapes:

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 ...

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 ...

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...

, and

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...

. * White grapes:

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 ...

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

Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

References

External links

D.O. Cigales official website
{{coord, 41, 46, 0, N, 4, 42, 0, W, type:landmark_region:ES_source:nlwiki, display=title Wine regions of Spain Province of Valladolid