A Brief and Incomplete Look at Spain's Wine History
Timeline
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| Event Date: | Event Title: | Event Description: | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01/711 | Moors invade Spain | Moorish result diminishes wine trade | |
| 01/01/1492 | Moors defeated / Exploration of Americas | Re-claiming their country, Spain's wine industry returns; export opportunities arise with exploration of Americas | |
| 01/01/1587 | Britain loves Sherry | Spanish Armada defeated and Sir Francis Drake's fleet takes equivalent of 180,000 cases of Sherry beginning Britain's love affair with Jerez-made wines | |
| 01/01/1780 | Rioja takes notes from BDX | Rioja winemaker, Manuel Quintano, adopts Bordeaux method of aging using large barrels. | |
| 01/01/1852 | Small oak casks from BDX | Luciano de Murrieta introduces small oak casks from Bordeaux to produce first "modern" Rioja | |
| 01/01/1860 | First industrial bodega | Luciano de Murrieta develops Spain's 1st industrial-scale bodega | |
| 07/03/1870 | Torres leads wine business | Located in Penendès, Torres was Spains leading winery. | |
| 07/03/1872 | Cava Created | First Cavas are produced using the traditional method or méthode champenoise used for French Champagne - vinted by Don José Raventós. | |
| 12/01/1875 | Phylloxera invades Spain | Late 19th century | |
| 01/01/1880 | Railway expands Rioja | Rail links Rioja village to northern coast via Bilbao making shipment of wine to France easier | |
| 07/03/1887 | Phylloxera in Cava | ||
| 07/03/1901 | Phlloxera in Rioja | Louse devestates and destroys 70% of existing vineyards | |
| 06/28/1914 | WWI Begins | ||
| 11/11/1918 | WWI Ends | ||
| 07/03/1926 | Rioja DO established | ||
| 07/03/1932 | DO Laws established | Wine laws similar to the Appelation d'Origine Controlée in France are established in Spain | |
| 07/17/1936 | Spanish Civil War Begins | ||
| 04/01/1939 | Spanish Civil War Ends | ||
| 09/01/1939 | WWII Begins | ||
| 09/02/1945 | WWII Ends | ||
| 07/03/1960 | Rioja begins to Recover | Rioja is making a come-back after Phylloxera & Franco | |
| 08/14/1960 | Cariñena DO established | The oldest DO in Aragón is recognized. | |
| 08/03/1970 | Vintage of the Century | An amazing vintage allows Spanish wine a turning point in history | |
| 10/03/1970 | Stainless steel & temperature controlled fermenting | Torres is the first to develop a crisp, aromatic white using new technology for fermentation. | |
| 07/03/1974 | Gyro Palette introduced by Freixenet | A Spanish Cava producer introduces use of a machine which automates rémuage, or riddling - the process of moving yeast to the neck of the bottle for removing. Invented in 1968 by two Frenchmen. | |
| 07/03/1975 | Priorat established as DO | ||
| 01/01/1978 | Spain returns to democracy | ||
| 07/03/1979 | DO laws revised | ||
| 07/03/1979 | Bordelaise Buffooned by Spanish Wine | A Spanish wine entered into Gault Miller French Wine Olympiad, a French wine competition, and takes first place above Bordeaux's finest | |
| 07/03/1980 | Albariño to talk about | The 80s lead to modernization in Rías Baixas resulting in very good Albariños. | |
| 01/01/1986 | Spain joins EU | After joining the European Union, investments flood in and bolster the wine industry. | |
| 01/03/1986 | Rías Baixas - 5 commercial wineries | ||
| 07/03/1986 | Cava DO formed | ||
| 07/03/1987 | Costers del Segre DO formed | ||
| 03/03/1988 | DOCa created | Denominacíon de Origen Calificada becomes the highest ranking wine category - two exist today: Rioja & Priorat | |
| 12/03/1988 | Rías Baixas - 88 commercial wineries | ||
| 01/01/1991 | Rioja made DOCa/DOC | The Rioja wine region is promoted to Denominación de Origen Calificada status - at that time the only one | |
| 07/01/1992 | Drought leads to irrigation expirimentation | 1992-1993 drought results in vineyards experimenting with artificial irrigation, which is currently not allowed. | |
| 07/03/1995 | Sherry gets serious | The term "Sherry" is defined solely by those wines from the Jerez region. | |
| 07/03/1999 | General Catalunya DO created | While maintaining the DO mark, wines labelled Catalunya are now from a variety of internal regions. | |
| 01/01/2000 | 1100 -500 BC: 1st wine made in Andalucía | ||
| 01/01/2000 | 100-500 BC: 1st Wine Made in Andalucía | ||
| 01/01/2000 | 1000-500 BC: 1st wine made in Andalucía | ||
| 07/03/2000 | Priorat becomes the 2nd DOCa | ||
| 01/01/2001 | 200 BC: Romans encourage boom in vinegrowing | ||
| 07/03/2001 | Cava trounces Champagne | Cava becomes the best selling sparkling wine, edging out Champagne from France | |
| 07/03/2001 | 200 BC: Romans boost vinegrowing | ||
| 02/25/2002 | Montsand strikes it's own trail | Montsant is granted DO status outside of Tarragona | |
| 01/01/2003 | Irrigation allowed | After expirimentation in the 90s, DO laws are revised to permit irrigation. | |
| 07/03/2003 | Wine Academy of Spain founded | ||
| 07/03/2003 | DO Pago created | A level of quality between DO and DOCa is established - currently there are 7 DO Pago regions | |
| 01/01/2008 | Pancho Campo earns MW | Pancho Campo becomes the first Spaniard to achieve the level of Master of Wine | |
| 02/24/2009 | Wines of Ribera del Duero gain int'l recognition | ||
| 07/03/2009 | Ribera del Duero DO | Region in north-central Spain earns becomes an official Denominación de Origen |
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