Sun, Wine and Olive Oil TOURIST BOARD & CONVENTION BUREAU Index...Wine WINE in MÁLAGA
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SPECIALMálaga EDITION Sun, Wine TOURISTTOURIST BOARDBOARD && and Olive Oil CONVENTIONCONVENTION BUREAUBUREAU SpecialTourist Guide 5 Editionwww.visitcostadelsol.com TOURIST BOARD & CONVENTION BUREAU index . WINE IN MÁLAGA . OLIVE OIL IN MÁLAGA . USEFUL INFORMATION PATRONATO PROVINCIAL DE TURISMO DE LA COSTA DEL SOL Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones de la Costa del Sol C/ México, s/n, 4ª planta 29620 TORREMOLINOS- MÁLAGA- ESPAÑA Phone: (34) 952 058 694 Fax : (34) 952 050 311 / 952 370 406 E-mail: [email protected] Web : www.visitacostadelsol.com 2 www.visitcostadelsol.com a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s e d i t o r i a l . Index Málaga, Sun, Wine and Olive Oil TOURIST BOARD & CONVENTION BUREAU index...wine WINE IN MÁLAGA 0. Introduction 1. Málaga Wine through the years 2. Málaga Wine making and traditions 3. General typology 4. Grape growing and wine-pproducing regions 5. Tourist routes 6. Málaga Wine culture 7. Málaga Wine and gastronomy 8. The Control Board for Málaga and Sierras de Málaga Denominations of Origin 9. Wineries and wine tasting 3 www.visitcostadelsol.com a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s e d i t o r i a l . Index Málaga, Sun, Wine and Olive Oil introduction WINE IN MÁLAGA We would like to ask The main grape varieties used to make DO Málaga wines are muscatel and those who visit Costa del Sol to come pedro ximén. with us and follow the trail of vineyards, wineries and people related to Málaga Nowadays, there is a new Designation of Origin: Sierras de Málaga (from Wine, to invite them to go deep into the now on, DO Sierras de Málaga), which includes wines that are not traditional land and take the Wine Routes across wines in Málaga, namely, white, red and rosé, made from different grape the province. varieties. The land in Málaga reflects its wine, and Málaga has a rich and complex variety of landscapes and it is a the wine reflects its land, which is not by microclimate paradise. From the coast to the 2,000 m above sea level chance, since each one lends the other areas, we will find vineyards and, next to them, villages which mirror the their character and name until they Andalusian charm irradiating its own culture, folklore, natural beauty and the become completely merged. lifestyle of their inhabitants. Before taking the road, it is important to learn some details about wines: Let's go! Málaga grows wine since time immemorial, even if its traditional wine, the wine that travels around the world, is that known as wine with Designation of Origin Málaga (from now on, DO Málaga). Denominacion de Origen, the Spanish system for wine classification that fits the requirements of the European Union's top-quality wine category, guarantees wines' origin and quality, and in this designation, numerous types of wines are included, but for the moment we will focus on sweet wines, which are the best known, not the only ones, though. 4 www.visitcostadelsol.com index editorial . I n t r o d u c t i o n Málaga, Sun, Wine and Olive Oil Many people from Málaga who travel to far-off places have heard the phrase "Your town bears the name of a wine". For in the old days, when tourism was not that common, Málaga was not equalled to sun and beaches, let alone with a southern Spanish province -Málaga was just a type of wine. Indeed, in the beginning there was the land, then there was its wine, but it is true that this wine embraces the quintessence of the Mother Earth in which the grapes grow: its sun, sea, light, contrasts, the sweetness and joy of Málaga, all of which can be savoured in each sip. This is still so, but let's look retrospectively to know what the life of these Málaga's ambassadors, its wines, has been like. 1. mÁLAGA WINE THROUGH Before we start, we would like to offer one more detail: there was an epoch in which vineyards in Málaga covered 110,000 ha, while THE YEARS nowadays they cover only 5,000 in Axarquía, the Mountains of Málaga, the Serranía de Ronda, the Western Coast, and the Northern Region (Antequera). These areas maintain the deep mysteries of an ancient vineyard tradition more than 25 centuries old, marked by a rugged terrain, the sun and sea. On the banks of the Guadalhorce river, Phoenicians founded Mainake (Málaga) in the 12th century BC. They imported the first grapes and elaborated the first musts. From then on, Málaga has been transformed in a wine producing region. 5 www.visitcostadelsol.com index editorial . M á l a g a W i n e t h r o u g h t h e y e a r s Málaga, Sun, Wine and Olive Oil But we have to move back to the Roman period if we want to know how wine making and exports have permeated the local society. Today, traces of those centuries still remain. SOME REMAINS FROM THE OLD DAYS In Málaga, there are still some symbols that remind us of past times stressed by wine culture. You can visit Acinipo, the old Roman city in Ronda, whose name stands for "city Once in the 8th century, vineyards and wine production fermented the of wine", where a number of coins with a cluster of grapes stamped on them economy of southern Spain. At that period, as is still customary for them, have been found, a fact that tells a lot about the importance of grape growing in Muslims in Spain had to comply with Quranic laws, which prohibit alcohol the region. A visit to Acinipo is included in the wine route across Ronda. consumption, but they managed to turn a blind eye to religious regulations regarding this matter. In fact, during the seven centuries of Muslim rule, the In Cártama, some 30 km away from the capital city of the province of Málaga, a number of vineyards increased strikingly. Probably, the plantation boom was wine press was found in a plot of land dating back to the late Roman Empire. due to raisin production or to wine distillation for medical use, for people had The press consists in a prismatic fermentation vat that connects through some taken the habit of drinking some wine on behalf of health care. Xarab al tubes with the recipient where the grape juice was obtained. This finding reveals Malaqui was the name given by Allah's sons to what Christians called the first traces of wine-making in Málaga. Málaga Wine. In the city of Málaga, capital of the province, at the Plaza de la Constitución, you Such Spanish words as alcohol, alambique (still) and arrope (grape syrup), will find the building belonging to the Royal Charitable Organisation "Pío de all of them of Islamic origin, were incorporated into the Spanish language Socorro" for wine-growers and grape harvesters in the Diocese of Málaga during Muslim rule in the Spanish Peninsula. The Moorish muscatel grape (1776). This society was founded to protect local farmers from foreign was highly prized by Muslims, an appreciation closely linked to the Málaga merchants' wrongs. Foreign merchants gave money to local farmers as an Wine that has come down to our time. advance payment for the harvest they agreed to deliver to the moneylenders. 6 www.visitcostadelsol.com index editorial . M á l a g a W i n e t h r o u g h t h e y e a r s Málaga, Sun, Wine and Olive Oil ARAB CULTURE AND MÁLAGA WINE Almaccari de Tremecen is one of the few Arab writers whose texts have come down to us. He collected an anonymous poem where the vineyards in Málaga are praised: "Its land (Málaga) was covered with vineyards, one linked to the other until they reached mount Xolair (Sierra Nevada), which, when the vines were leafy, offered one of the most wonderful views in the world." He claims the wine was excellent, both the legal one and the wine forbidden to Muslims. There is a passage in his texts that is connected with this issue: the author comments that there was once a Muslim who, knowing that he was about to die, said, "pray to your Lord for mercy." And he, raising his hands to heaven, exclaimed, "Oh, My Lord! Out of all things I can do in Heaven, I only fancy drinking some Málaga Wine." 2002 was the year of the 5th centenary of this historical landmark in the Málaga Wine history, which was widely celebrated. The 17th century witnessed the beginnings of the Málaga Wine expansion, In the 15th century, Málaga, a seaport city, had already been weaving a and in the 18th century, it was already world famous. In English speaking commercial network based on wine, and winemaking had already become nations, it was called "mountain" because it came from the mountains one of the main pillars of its economy. When Ferdinand and Isabella the surrounding the Hoya de Málaga (the Monutains of Málaga). In England it Catholics took over the city in 1487, they were asked by winegrowers to was also known as malligo sack, and in France, as vins de Málaga. issue regulations protecting their interests. The story goes that Catherine II, the Czarina of Russia, after tasting some 12 January 1502 is a landmark, for that day the first Royal Decree was Málaga Wine offered by Spanish Ambassador Miguel de Gálvez, liked the issued establishing the Hermandad de Viñeros de Málaga (Málaga wine and she declared null and void all regulations on import tariffs on this Winegrowers' Union), the present Control Board's predecessor.