Andalucía

The second largest of the 17 autonomous regions in the south of Spain (Spanish: Andalucía), comprising eight provinces. It is bordered to the east by the Region of Murcia and to the north by the regions of Extremadura and La Mancha. It is the oldest wine region in Spain, because as early as 1,100 BC the Phoenicians founded the port city of Gadir (today's Cádiz) and exported wine. Even during the 700-year rule of the Moors until the end of the 15th century, wine was still produced here in a limited way, but mainly raisins. The Moors transformed the area into a large garden and it was called "paradise on earth". Already much earlier than the rest of Andalusia, Jerez was taken from the Moors already in 1264 and strong wines were produced in the style of sherry. From the 16th century onwards, there was an economical relapse also in the wine growing, not until the beginning of the 1950s, when the tourism came up, there was a big boom. Andalusia is the hottest part of Spain with a Mediterranean dominated climate. The westerly winds from the Atlantic provide cooling and the often calcareous soil stores the water also during the dry periods. In the region the areas Condado de Huelva, Jerez, Malaga, Montilla-Moriles and Sierras de Málaga are classified as DO.