The Origins
The origins of wine making in Spain go so far back into the dim and distant past that no one is really very sure when vines were first introduced into the Iberian peninsula. Most people lay the credit at the door of the Phoenicians who probably brought them over to the Levantine and Andalucian coast as their trading empire expanded westwards during the first millennium BC. Spanish wines quickly became one of the most frequently traded products in the Mediterranean.
The Romans, who invaded Spain in 218 BC, certainly appreciated the local tipple and quickly became masters of viticulture in the peninsula, bringing with them practices such as the addition of resins and aromatic essences. The trade was so strong that it continued to prosper under Visigoth rule following the collapse of the Empire.
Although the fermentation of alcoholic drinks was prohibited by the Koran, it didn’t mean that wine-making died out during Moorish rule. In fact most of the ruling Caliphs tolerated its production in Christian monasteries.
Consolidation
It was the monastic orders that consolidated production with a corridor of vineyards springing up along the medieval pilgrimage trail, the Camino de Santiago, that ran across the north of the country from France to Compostela. A 12th century monk from Burgundy named Raymond de Citeaux is credited for introducing the variety of grape that eventually became known as tempranillo and his Franciscan colleague Eiximenis did much to popularise wine by writing a book extolling the virtues of moderate drinking and warning of the dangers of drunkenness. He recommended partaking of three to four glasses of wine with each meal!
In the 14th century King Alfonso XI tried to enourage domestic production by introducing the first protectionist measures against foreign wines, while early trading contacts between the Andalucian city of Jerez and England began to develop. Wine-making really took off after the Reconquista ended Moorish rule and by the 15th century Jerez was regularly exporting its produce to the English port of Bristol. Spanish fortified wines or “vinos generosos” became so popular that they get an honourable mention in both Chaucer and Shakespeare.
Expansion
The English soon began to get a taste for the Mediterranean reds known as Tent (or Tinto de Alicante) and for Sack (vinos de “saca”) which hailed from Jerez, the Canary islands and Malaga. But Jerez remained the most sought-after of the Spanish wines. In the 16th century, Sir Francis Drake raided the city of Cadiz and made off with about 3,000 barrels of the stuff as he “singed the king of Spain´s beard”, while Charles I rated it as his favourite beverage.
By the 18th century English, Irish and French merchants such as Osborne, Harvey, Croft, Terry, Garvey and Domeq had set up headquarters in Jerez. Riojan wines grew in popularity too as did those from the vineyards of Catalunya.
The French connection
Rioja began to build its reputation in the 19th century when the region began the production of “Bordeaux-style” fine wines. The onset of the vine-destroying phylloxera epidemic in France also gave it a valuable boost. Many French winemakers fled south of the Pyrennees, bringing with them clean vines to establish new vineyards in Spain. The Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Penedés regions were particularly popular destinations.
With the influx came the introduction of new methods, machinery and grape varieties. The first modern style bodega was set up as an imitation of a Bordeaux chateau by the Marqués de Riscal in 1860 and his wine became the the first Rioja to be bottled. Exports to France soared in the wake of the phylloxera epidemic. Fortunately by the time it finally reached Spain a solution had been found to put an end to the problem by grafting on an American rootstock immune to disease.
The 19th century also witnessed the development of a new variety of wine – cava. After visits to the Champagne region of France, Catalan winemaker Josep Raventos began the production of a Spanish sparkling wine in 1872 and soon after the first bottled cava, Can Cordorniú, came off the production line. The Vega Sicilia bodega, which came to produce Spain’s most prized red, was established just after the turn of the century in 1915.
The Modern era
But it was not all smooth progress. The Spanish winemaking industry was hit by crisis in the 1930s and 1940s, suffering from abandonment and neglect during the Civil War as well as a succession of poor harvests.
After decades in the wilderness, the industry experienced a renaissance shortly after Franco’s death. There was a major technical revolution in the 1980s and over the next decade increasing emphasis was placed on the production of quality wines. Today the country is at the forefront of modern viticulture with its vineyards and bodegas combining the experience and wisdom that come from thousands of years of wine-making together with state-of-the-art methods and technology.
