Toro (wine region)
Toro is a wine-growing region around the Spanish city of Toro in the Castile-León region .
The area on the Duero River on the border of the provinces of Zamora and Valladolid has a long winemaking tradition with almost black and very alcoholic wines, which, however, were often flawed due to the lack of cellar technology. Where at the end of the 19th century there were around 35,000 hectares of vineyards, in 1996 there were still 750 hectares. Only the winemaker Manolo Fariña has been creating a new style of Toro wines since the 1980s. He harvested the vines much earlier and worked with coolable steel tanks. The wine was also stored in new wooden barrels made of oak. The quality was convincing and the Toro area was recognized as a DO ( Denomiacion de origen ) in 1986 . As a result, renowned wineries from other regions became aware of the area and recognized the enormous potential. A real Toro boom was triggered with many start-ups and investments. Meanwhile, several wines from the Toro have an international level and the vineyard area is again 4400 hectares. The leap in quality over the past few years is comparable to that of the Priorat area , but the price policy is still moderate.
Red wines from the Tempranillo grape variety grow on the calcareous soil on the north bank of the Duero in a pronounced inland climate with long, hot summers and low yields . A variety of this vine, the Tinta de Toro, is used here. The cultivation of the vines is favored by the height of the locations, which are on average between 600 and 800 msnm . This means that the nights are pleasantly cool even when the vines are ripening. This is one of the basic requirements for growing quality wines. An outstanding wine from this region is, for example , Termanthia 2004 from the Numanthia Termes winery , which was awarded the maximum number of 100 Parker points .
Web links
literature
- Jan Read: Spaniens Weine 2005/06 , 7th edition, Hallwag Verlag Munich, ISBN 3-7742-6962-9 ,
- John Radford: The New Spain , 1st edition, Mitchell Beazley, ISBN 1-84000-928-4
- Jeremy Watson: The NEW & CLASSICAL wines of Spain , 1st edition, Montagud Editores Barcelona, ISBN 84-7212-087-2