Wine

An Invitation to Explore The Wines of Andalusia with #WorldWineTravel

Posted by Martin D. Redmond on

In October the World Wine Travel group of writers will be taking a virtual trip to Andalusia in southern Spain.

About Andalusia

This vibrant region is the most populous in Spain, and has a colorful history. Its strategic position at the gateway to the Mediterranean and its proximity to Africa have made it a target for many settlements and invasions throughout history. Muslims, Romani, Iberians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, Byzantines, Christians and Castilians have all called Andalucia home at some stage, and each culture has left its mark explains WineSearcher.com

Please note that Granada is now also a D.O.P. of Andalusia

As a result of this multicultural past, Andalucia has a strong and unique cultural identity. My wife and I visited Sevilla and Granada in 2013. I can unequivocally tell you that Andalucia has a different vibe than the rest of Spain. It’s multicultural character manifest itself in its architecture and the diversity of its people.

Bull-fighting and flamenco, two quintessential traditions associated with Spain, actually originated in Andalucia.

It is the only European region with both Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines.

Andalusia Wine

Spanish viticulture originated in what is now known as Andalusia around 1100 BC when Phoenicians founded a trading post in Andalusian province of Cadiz. The Phoenicians were followed by the Carthaginians, who were followed by the Romans (It was the Romans who expanded viticulture north to regions like Rioja) The Romans widely exported and traded Spanish wine throughout their empire. The two largest wine producing regions under the Romans were Tarragona (in Catalonia region) in the north, and Andalusia in the south.

After the fall of the Roman empire, Iberia was long under the control of the Moors and Islam, and winemaking was discouraged if not outright forbidden here from 711 to 1492, when King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castille conquered the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, finally freeing Spain from Muslim rule after nearly 800 years

In the 17th and 18th centuries the wines of Rioja and sweet fortified wines from Sherry and Malaga flourished for a time, but generally Spain lagged behind other European countries.

The Jerez-Xeres-Sherry wine region located in Cadiz is undoubtedly, the star in Andalusian wines. The region goes by three names because it wines are popular in Spain as Vinos de Jerez, but also in France as Xerez and England as Sherry. Jerez is one of the oldest wines in the world, and today’s product is a consequence of the influence of many civilizations: Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Moors, Spanish and British, who all contributed to create the well known and loved drink.

Malaga and Sierras de Malaga, which occupy the same area but are separate DOs east of Jerez, produce sweet wines and dry table wines respectively.

List of Andalusia DOPs (Source)

Andalusia has seven geographically classified Denominación de Origen Protegida (D.O.P.) that are regulated for quality according to specific laws, and in compliance with European Commission Regulation.

Join Us

Our World Wine Travel group of will be finding a bottle of wine from Andalusia. If you’re so inclined, pair with food. We’ll all post our findings on October 22 and 23, and we’ll follow up with a chat on Twitter. We would love to have you join in!

  • Pick a wine from the Andalusia region. Jerez-Xerez-Sherry, Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Málaga and Sierras de Málaga are probably your best bet. Sponsored posts are welcome as long as you clearly indicate which wines are samples.
  • Write up a blog post on your experience. Please feel free to share extra information about the region, the winery or the pairing. But don’t publish it yet!
  • By end of day on October 19th, get your title to me by email at martindredmond@gmail.com, comment below, or post in the Facebook event.
  • Between Friday October 22 and Saturday October 23 at 8am PT please publish your post; include #WorldWineTravel in the title and add the provided preliminary HTML to link to other participants.
  • On Saturday October 23, join our 10am – 11am CDT twitter chat; you can find us using the #WorldWineTravel hashtag.
  • Read, comment, and share each other’s posts about Andalusia wine
  • Add the final HTML to your post which links to participants published posts.

`Related Posts:

An Exploration of Sherry; In the Glass And At The Table #WinePW (for background on Sherry and pairing of the 5 dry style Sherry, and a sweet Sherry).