The landscape around the port city of Valencia in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula is one of the most fertile areas of Spain. Rice, fruit and vegetables are grown here - and of course wine. The vineyards of Valencia's provenance, however, are located in the hinterland at a respectful distance from the pulsating metropolis, which with its port is also the most important transhipment point for wine from Spain.
The climate on the coast of Valencia is very Mediterranean and rather humid and hot. The higher zones in the hinterland, however, are cooler, much drier and therefore very suitable for viticulture. Over 17,000 hectares are under vines here, most of which are rooted at an altitude of between 150 and 600 meters above sea level in a calcareous soil with a rocky subsoil.
White wines are produced from the Merseguera, Planta Fina, Pedro Ximénez and Malvasia varieties and red wines from the Garnacha Tinta and Garnacha Tintorera varieties, but in other places you can also find wines from the Monastrell variety. Dessert and liqueur wines made from the Moscatel variety, marketed under the name Moscatel de Valencia, are a particular specialty.
While until the end of the last century the region stood for rather plain and insignificant wines, much has changed since then. Through better work in the vineyard and increasing modernisation of cellar technology, the qualities from Valencia have gained amazingly in stature.
