Max. Summer temp. : 32 ºC
Min. Winter temp.: -5 ºC
Average rainfall: 500 mm annually
Average sunshine: 2,627 hours annually
Villafranca del Penedés (Catalonia)
Penedés DO
Penedès has long been associated with innovative vineyards and wineries. In the 1970s, it became the first area in Spain to use stainless steel equipment and cold-fermentation. Since then the Penedès producers have been making excellent modern wines blending native with French varieties.
They are helped by the variety of altitudes, landscapes and microclimates which allow many different grapes to grow well here. More recently there has been extensive research work on recovering native varieties, on the development of integrated and organic cultivation techniques, and on experiments with further new varieties and densities of planting. There is a wine museum in the area's main town, Vilafranca del Penedès.
Since 2013 a number of new producers have joined the DO increasing the weight of quality sparkling wines, always produced in much smaller quantities than still wines. In 2014 these wines are given the brand name of Clàssic Penedès, and a new line of regulations is drawn up to better define the sparkling: organic, only from Penedés and Reserva (the producers must hold Clàssic Penedés wines for at least 15 months in the cellar).
Regulatory Council
Consejo Regulador DO Penedés
Plaça Àgora, 1
09720 Vilafranca del Penedès
Barcelona
Tel.: +34 938 904 811
dopenedes@dopenedes.cat
www.dopenedes.cat
Sources:
- Spanish Ministry of Agriculture
- Regulatory Council, Penedés PDO
Clàssic Penedès is a brand for sparkling wines organic, only from Penedès and Reserva with a new line of regulations.
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Vineyards
Area under vine
17,894 ha.
Altitude of vineyards
900 m.
Soil types
Calcaris.
Principal grapes (w)
Xarel.lo, Chardonnay, Subirat, Parellada and Macabeo.
Principal grapes (r)
Tempranillo, Samsó, Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha Tinta, Cariñena, Monastrell and Merlot.
Production:
Maximum crop
Red: 9,000 kg/ha. White: 12,000 kg/ha
Yield
70 % red; 66 % white
Production 2013
133,167 hl
Production 2014
138,541 hl
Production 2015
143,173 hl