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Concept
Catalan wine
Summary
Catalan wines are those that are produced in the wine regions of Catalonia. Occasionally, the appellation is applied to some French wine made in the Catalan region of Roussillon and neighboring areas, also known as Northern Catalonia or the Pays catalans. The city of Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and despite not being in a wine region (although a portion of the Penedès is in the greater comarca of Barcelona), it is the focal point of the Catalan wine industry: a primary consumer market, its port provides export functions and a source of financial resources and investment. The Penedès is the largest wine-making region in Catalonia.
The area has a long winemaking tradition and was the birthplace of the sparkling wine Cava, invented in the early 1870s in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia by Josep Raventós of Codorniu Winery. At the turn of the 20th century, the Catalan wine industry was at the forefront of Spain's emergence as a world leader in quality wine production, being the first Spanish wine region to adopt the use of stainless steel fermentation tanks. The area is also an important cork production region, with output aimed primarily at the region's Cava houses. Today Catalonia is the second-largest producer of wine in Spain, producing over 5.5 million hectolitres.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the Phoenicians introduced winemaking to the region several hundred years before the Romans arrived there. Recovered pieces of amphora indicate that the Phoenicians traded ancient Catalan wines with the Egyptians. The Romans had a major influence in the development of Catalan wine-growing, particularly around Tarragona, the Roman capital of occupied Spain. With the fall of the Roman Empire in the 4th century and subsequent Moorish rule, Catalan wine production was severely curtailed. It was several hundred years before wine production began again in earnest.
In the 14th century, the Franciscan writer Francesc Eiximenis described Catalan wines as strong, dense, highly alcoholic wines which, although high quality, sometimes needed to be diluted with water.
Official source
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