The south Mediterranean region has perfect conditions for producing high quality wines. The Spanish wines were already famous in the Roman times. Origin denominations (D.O.) are used to award the quality of Spanish wines. In our region we have four wine origin denominations:
· Alicante: sandy vineyards in a warm area is the recipe for excellent dessert wines. The main difference with other regions are the sandy soils of this region and the hours of sun. Nowadays there is a huge variety of wines with Alicante D.O.
· Jumilla: Monastrell grapes fits perfectly to the sandy soils of Jumilla, the ungrafted vines of this region give a tasty and colourful red wine. Many wines of this D.O. have achieved high quality.
· Yecla: This historical wine region has similar conditions to Jumilla; sandy soils, similar elevation and they use mostly Monastrell grapes. Aromatic wines with intense colour are produced in Yecla, also excellent dessert wines.
· Bullas: Limestone and alluvial soils, elevation between 2,000 and 2,800 feet. All red wines from Bullas D.O. should have at least 60 % of Monastrell, using also some French varieties.
Bodegas are special shops where you can find a huge variety of wines and the advices of an expert. There are Bodegas in most of the Spanish cities.
