It was the Romans that introduced the cultivation of the vine into a catalog. Or rather: it is said that even before, the Phoenicians did it, but the Romans gave the turning point.
Then the Moors arrived and the production became decidedly poorer: they did not like wine as much as the ancient Romans. The nineteenth century had to come and the invasion of the phylloxera on the French vines to bring back the Catalan wines.
The most famous of the Catalan wines is the Cava, born from the inspiration of a local winemaker after having tasted the champagne and learning its processing techniques. The name of Cava is issued only if it comes from one of the eight Catalan regions that can produce it. 95% comes from the Penedès. It differs roughly with the same criteria of the renowned French cousin: Cava, Cava reserva and Gran reserva, depending on the months of stay on the lees. Then, Brut Nature, Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Dry, Dry, Demisec and Sweet, based on the residual sugar (shown here on an increasing scale, from 0 to 50 and more grams per liter). The grapes permitted by the specification are Macabeo, Xarel-lo, Parellada, Malvasia among the white wines, Garnacia tinta, Monastrell, Pinot nero and Trepat among the red ones, which can be used for the vinification of rosé. For more than 60%, production is exported.
The regions of Catalonia that boast the designation of origin are 20. The wine produced is mostly white, but there are reds and rosè produced by Conca De Barberà.
Catalan soil is rich in quartz, porous and draining. The most sought after grapes are the garnatxa (the Sardinian cannonau!) And carineña, in Catalonia called samsó. These grapes allow the production of less full-bodied wines and spirits of the classic reds, but more elegant, on the French style. Fresh and persistent, many recognize similarities with the most famous Cabernet.
The wines of Catalonia differ from those of the rest of Spain, which are more full-bodied, sapid, vanilla.
The red wine of Catalonia identifies nothing less than an entire geographical area: the Rioja, crossed by the river Ebro. Here there are many cellars, some old, others signed by famous architects, which attract tourists' visits. The riojane grapes are 5: tempranillo (the most common), grenacha, matuelo, además and graziano, the most valuable. It is vinified in purity, with monovitigno grapes.