Tierra de Léon is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines located in the south of the province of León, in 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 an area of 3,317 km² at an altitude of approximately 900 m above sea level. The area attained its D.O. status on 27 July 2007.

History

Grape cultivation was probably introduced 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 ...

. The area benefited from being at the crossroads of two important routes: The

Way of Saint James The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

, the pilgrimage route running east to west from France to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

, and the Ruta de la Plata, running north–south between the silver mines of the Cantabrian coast and the southern port of Cadiz. Around the 10th century, the main economic activities of the region were cereal production and milling, along with grape growing and winemaking, which was practiced in the monasteries of different religious orders. Production increased steadily over the centuries until 1887 which is when the phylloxera virus destroyed most of the vineyards of the area. Production did not pick up again until the 1920s. In 1985, a group of producers applied for DO status based on the promotion of the local autochthonous grape variety known as Prieto Picudo.

Climate

The area has a continental climate (long, hot dry summers; cold winters). Temperatures in winter often fall below 0°C and there is frequent frosts and fog.

Soils

Alluvial soil, good drainage, poor in organic matter.

Varieties

* The recommended red grapes are: Prieto Picudo and Mencía; also authorized are

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 Garnacha. * The recommended white grapes are:

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 ...

, Albarín blanco, and

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 ...

; also authorized are

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 ...

and Palomino.

References

External links