Pla i Llevant is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) (''Denominació d'Origen Protegida'' in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

) for wines located on the island of Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain. The name in the Catalan or Majorcan language means "plain and east coast."

History

Grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

growing and wine production was introduced to the island by the

ancient Romans In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 ...

in the year 121 BC when

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (c. 128 – 63 BC) was a Roman politician and general. Like the other members of the influential Caecilii Metelli family, he was a leader of the Optimates, the conservative faction opposed to the Populares during ...

took possession of the island for Rome.

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 ' ...

mentioned the wines of Majorca in his writings in the 1st century AD. During the centuries of Moorish dominion, grape growing and wine production did not disappear despite the prohibitions of the

Koran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

, as when King Jaume I conquered the island in 1230, he was offered top quality wine as a peace offering. Before the arrival of the phylloxera plague at the end of the 19th century, there were about under vines in Majorca and exports were 300,000 hl (8,000,000 gallons) of wine per year. After the devastation of the virus however, most of the vineyards were replaced by almond trees. In the late 20th century, there was a revival of the wine industry due to the demand for quality wine by tourists. In 1991 the area was classified as ''Vinos de la Tierra'', and, in 2001, were upgraded to DO status.

Geography

The vineyards are located in the areas known as

Felanitx Felanitx or Felanich is a municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands, located in the southeast of Majorca, 48 kilometres (30 miles) from the capital Palma de Mallorca. The town, dating back to the 13th century, l ...

and

Manacor Manacor () is a town and municipality on the island of Mallorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is the second largest town in Mallorca, after the capital of Palma. The municipality has tourist areas such as ...

which cover the central and eastern part of the island. They are at a rather low altitude, around above sea level.

Soils

The soils are quite fertile, have a high

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

content and are on lime-bearing rocks ( marl and

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

). The drainage is good and allows deep penetration of the roots. The soils are generally either red in colour due to the presence of iron oxide, or white due to the clays, calcium carbonate and magnesium.

Climate

The climate is maritime

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

, with long dry hot summers and short mild winters. In winter a strong wind is characteristic, especially on the plains, while there is not much risk of frosts or fog. The average annual rainfall is , falling mainly in autumn is the form of violent storms.

Authorised Grape Varieties

The authorised grape varieties are: * Red: Cabernet Sauvignon, Callet, Fogoneu,

Manto Negro Manto negro is a red Spanish wine grape variety grown on the Balearic islands. It is used in wines produced under the Binissalem-Mallorca and Plà i Llevant (DO) '' Denominación de Origen'' (DO)s, as well as the Illes Balears appellations. T ...

, Merlot, Monastrell, Pinot Noir, Syrah,

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 ...

, and Gorgollassa * White: Chardonnay,

Macabeo 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. Spanish ...

Moscatel de Alejandría Muscat of Alexandria is a white wine grape that is a member of the Muscat family of ''Vitis vinifera''. It is considered an "ancient vine", and wine experts believe it is one of the oldest genetically unmodified vines still in existence.J. Robi ...

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 pop ...

Parellada Parellada () is a Spanish white grape variety of Catalan origin specially grown in Catalonia, Spain. With Macabeu and Xarel·lo, it is one of the three traditional varieties used to make the sparkling wine Cava, which is primarily produced in ...

, Prensal Blanc,

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

, Giró Ros, and Viognier The older vines are usually planted as low bushes (''en vaso'') whereas the newly planted vines are usually on trellises (''en espaldera''). The planting density is between 2,500 and 5,000 vines/ha (1,000 to 2,000 vines/acre).

References

External links

D.O.P. Binissalem official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pla I Llevant (Do) Wine regions of Spain Appellations Wine classification Culture of Mallorca Balearic cuisine