Vino de Calidad de Granada, sun, altitude and balance
01/06/2011
Currently, Vino de Calidad de Granada is made up of 20 bodegas and close to 100 viticulturists, with its protected status stretching across a total of 168 municipalities within the province of Granada. As one of its main targets, the Granada Wine Association aims to boost quality wine production in a region where 5,500 hectares are committed to vine cultivation and which produce between 30 to 40 million kilos of grapes per year.
The region protected under Vino de Calidad de Granada is characterised by a Mediterranean climate, tempered by an Atlantic influence generated by the Sierra Nevada mountain range. This mountain range occupies the greater part of the region and as a result the vineyards are located at an average altitude of 1,200 metres. These factors, together with the region’s dry climate and extreme temperature changes, give rise to a long grape ripening cycle and to smooth wines with good colour and tannic structure.
The abundance of water and daylight hours in the province of Granada, together with the high average altitudes of the vineyards, afford the region the ability to produce some very singular wines. The Granada Wine Association has also focused its efforts in recovering native grape varieties, such as Vijiriega and in adapting international varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Vino de Calidad de Granada endorses the following native grape varieties: Vijiriega, Muscatel and Pedro Ximénez for whites, and Tempranillo, Garnacha and Muscatel for reds. As regards the endorsed international varieties, as well as those mentioned above, they also include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, Other authorised varieties are: Small grain Muscatel or Morisca, Palomino, Baladí Verdejo, Torrontés, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Romé and Petit Verdot.
