Toro is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for

wines Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

in the province of Zamora, which is in the northwest of Castile and Léon (

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 ...

). The area covered by the DOP is in the southeastern corner of Zamora province and includes the lands known as Tierra del Vino, Valle del Guareña and Tierra de Toro. It borders on the lands known as

Tierra del Pan Tierra del Pan (Land of Bread) is a '' comarca'' located in the center of the province of Zamora, western Spain. It belongs to the Autonomous Community of Castile and León. The city of Zamora, capital of the province, is included in this com ...

and

Tierra de Campos Tierra de Campos ("Land of Fields") is a large historical and natural region or greater comarca that straddles the provinces of León, Zamora, Valladolid and Palencia, in Castile and León, Spain. It is a vast, desolate plain with practically ...

. There are 8,000 ha under vines, of which 5,500 are registered with the DOP Regulatory Council (''Consejo Regulador'').

History

Uva tinta de Toro - 2013-Aug-20 - by Stromare

Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

has been made in Toro since the end of the 1st century BC, when the

ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cultu ...

taught the local

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

ic tribes. In the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

, the wines from Toro were the first to be traded in the region 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 ...

. King

Alfonso IX Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

granted lands to several religious orders with the understanding that they would plant vines, and many of the 40 churches that exist in the town of Toro today were built thanks to the wealth generated by the wine trade. The reputation of the wines from Toro grew and it began to be sold in other cities further afield such as

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

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 ...

. At this time the wine producers built underground wineries (''bodegas'') in order to obtain better quality wines and to have more effective temperature control. At the end of the 19th century great quantities of wine were exported to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during the

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belong to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs ...

crisis, which did not affect the local vines as they were protected by the sandy soil. For this reason, the vines of other regions of

were replaced by vines from Toro. For this reason, Toro still has a number of very old vineyards with pre-phylloxera '' Tinta de Toro'', which in recent years have been used to source grapes for special cuvées. The Toro DOP was created in 1987, and today is one of Spain's leading wine DOPs.

Climate

The DOP has an extreme continental climate (long, hot summers, cold winters) with Atlantic influences. Temperatures vary greatly, ranging from -11°C in winter to 37°C in summer. Rainfall is light, around 350-400 mm per annum. Hours of sunlight received are about 2,600 per annum with a maximum of 3,000.

Soil

The soil is formed by sediments of sand, clays and lime-bearing puddingstone, which produce a dark lime-bearing

topsoil Topsoil is the upper layer of soil. It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs. Description Topsoil is composed of mineral particles and organic matt ...

, with fine and coarse sands. The vineyards are at heights of between 620 m and 750 m above sea level.

Authorised grape varieties

* Red grapes: Tinta de Toro, Garnacha * White grapes: Verdejo, Malvasía Castellana,

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

Moscatel de Grano Menudo Muscatel ( ) is a type of wine made from muscat grapes. The term is now normally used in the United States to refer to a fortified wine made from these grapes rather than just any wine made from these grapes. This fortified muscatel became popu ...

Wines produced

* The red wines are predominantly made with 100% Tinta de Toro grapes. there are several types of reds: :* Young red: best drunk within the year of production :* ''Roble'': a young red aged between three and six months (can contain some Garnacha) :* '' Crianza'': aged for at least two years, of which at least six months in oak barrel :* ''Reserva'': aged for at least three years, of which one year in oak barrel :* ''Gran Reserva'': aged for at least five years, of which two years in oak barrel * The rosé wines are made from 50% Tinta de Toro and 50% Garnacha * The white wines are made from 100% Verdejo or 100%

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. Toro official website
{{Spanish wine regions Wine regions of Spain Province of Valladolid Province of Zamora