D.O. Tarragona

DO area on the northeast coast of Spain, which covers a large part of the province of the same name in Catalonia. It is an ancient wine-growing area, because already in ancient times the typical Catalan mistletoe and rancios were produced here and exported to many countries, which established the prosperity of the area. The harbour of Tarragona was already in the Roman times an important reloading point for this. Also the mass wines used in many churches all over the world still often come from Tarragona. A traditional producer is the winery De Muller, which supplies the Vatican. And for the Jewish community in Barcelona, the Cooperative Celler de Capçanes produces kosher wines. The vineyards cover 7,300 hectares of vines in the two quite different sub-areas of El Camp and Ribera d'Ebre, which cover 72 municipalities. The two former sub-areas of Montsant (formerly Falset) and Priorato became independent by splitting off.

The main white wine varieties are Chardonnay, Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo, Moscatel de Alejandría, Moscatel de Frontignan(Muscat Blanc), Parellada, Sauvignon Blanc and Xarello. The main red wine varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha Tinta, Merlot, Monastrell, Pinot Noir, Samsó(Mazuelo), Syrah and Ull de Llebre(Tempranillo). White wines are produced in two thirds of the production. A red wine typical of the region is the sweet Tarragona Clássico, which is produced from Garnacha Tinta. Grapes are also grown for the Spanish sparkling wine Cava, which are processed in the cellars of the neighbouring DO area Penedès. Well-known producers are José Lopez Beltrán, Beyme, Bodegas Josep M. Bach, Barbara Forés, Capafons-Ossó, Celler de Capçanes, De Muller, Gandesa, Pedro Masana, Pedro Rovira, Vidal i Vidal, Vinya Janine and Viños Piñol.