Cigales organic wine

In the Cigales area, wine-growing is said to have existed as early as the 13th century. It was started by the so-called white monks or Premostratsians who planted vines on the lands of their monastery in Grijalba.

Since then, vines have been cultivated and wine produced here in the north of Castile-Leòn. This activity came to a complete standstill in the middle of the 19th century due to the phylloxera plague.

It was only at the beginning of the 20th century that new vineyards were tentatively planted with phylloxera-resistant rootstocks.

Today, the approximately 2,000 hectare Cigales wine-growing region (named after the city in the center) is an area with a protected designation of origin (Denominacion).

The vineyards are also located at an altitude of 750 to 850 m. They are mostly flat, the soil is calcareous and not very fertile, making it very suitable for viticulture. The low rainfall, averaging around 450 mm/year, is very well absorbed by the loose soil and supplies the deep-rooted vines with liquid and the minerals dissolved in it during the long, dry and hot summer.

Because there are not many other plants that can endure very long and hot dry periods and at the same time very cold winters, the landscape appears monotonous and unattractive for tourists. But along the Pisuerga River there are definitely attractive perspectives and in the villages and larger towns there are numerous castles and churches worth seeing.
 

Grapes cultivated in the Cigales area:

• Tempranillo (the main one)
• Garnacha
• Verdejo
• Albillo