Catalan Wine - History

History

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Phoenicians introduced winemaking to the region several hundred years before the Romans arrived there. Recovered pieces of amphora indicate that the Phoenicians traded ancient Catalan wines with the Egyptians. The Romans had a major influence in the development of Catalan wine-growing, particularly around Tarragona, the Roman capital of occupied Spain. With the fall of the Roman Empire in the 4th century and subsequent Moorish rule, Catalan wine production was severely curtailed. It was several hundred years before wine production began again in earnest.

In the 14th century, the Franciscan writer Francesc Eiximenis described Catalan wines as strong, dense, highly alcoholic wines which, although high quality, sometimes needed to be diluted with water. A turning point for the Catalan wine industry occurred in the 19th century with the outbreak of the phylloxera epidemic that ravaged the French vineyards to the north. Along with wines from the Rioja region, Catalan wines became a welcome import for French consumers suffering a severe shortage of domestic produce.

In 1872, the sparkling wine Cava was invented in the Penedès region and eventually became an internationally recognized wine style. When phylloxera hit the region towards the end of the 19th century, Catalonia's vineyards comprised over 80% red wine grapes. The growing Cava industry encouraged planting of more white wine grapes, in place of the diseased red rootstock, where they now make up nearly 70% of the region's vineyards.

During the 20th century, the Catalan wine industry became one of the leaders of the innovation behind the Spanish wine revolution, embracing modern winemaking techniques and increasing the plantings of international grape varieties. The region received international attention in 1979 when a bottle of Torres 1970 Gran Coronas Black Label (a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Monastrell) was secretly entered into the "classified Bordeaux wine" category of the Gault Millau Wine Olympics and ended up winning that category.