Released on = May 25, 2006, 7:57 am

Press Release Author = Christian Papenmeyer

Industry = Agriculture

Press Release Summary = Viniculture of Spain has a worldwide reputation and attracts
yearly a lot of visitors. Especially, visitors of Catalunya will face a high amount
of wineries and can enjoy a day off the Catalan metropole and explore the hilly
surrounding and its ideal landscape and climate for cultivating wine.

Press Release Body = The warm and sunny wheather during May and August among the
Mediterranean coast attracts a large amount of tourists every year and initiates the
wine-season at the same time. Both, the tourist season and the viniculture are
linked directly to each other and there are many special tours to wineries and the
characteristic landscape. Among some of the most popular wine regions like La Rioja
or Jerez with its famous Sherry one will also find Penedes, Catalunya. Penedes is
located in the north of Barcelona and still today profits from its direct connection
to the Catalan capital, which makes distribution easy and which gives an image
support due to its international reputation. Generally, viniculture was established
in the 1960s but traces back to the year 400 a.d.. Later on, the hills were
cultivated by Romans, who even had their own wineries because they were already
realizing the high quality of the regional wines. In a whole there are three
different zones: Baix Penedès (up to 250 m sealevel), Mitja Penedès (up to 500 m)
and Alt Penedès (up to 850 m), which sum up 27.500 hectare of land. 2500 hrs of sun
each year and different types of grounds complete the high attractiveness for
viniculture. In 1960, the mayor even decided that red wine of that region should
only be produced for the citizens of Barcelona in order to keep prices low and to
secure the citie's supply. Today, this manner has changed, of course. Many different
types of wines are produced and more than ¼ are exported. Well-known is certainly
the famous sparkling wine Freixenet, which again shows the changing habit of
producing white wine as well.
Spain has a total amount of 1.200.000 ha of cultivated ground for viniculture, which
is the largest acreage for wine in the whole world. The different areas are
cultivated by 150.000 vintagers, who work in nearly 5.000 wineries. 300 of them are
in Catalunya, where they produce the famous \'Cava\' (sparkling wine) and several red
wines. Some of these vineyards are in the direct surrounding of Barcelona, which
offers the chance to sample wines on a sunny weekend. The mentioned winery of
Penedes is known worldwide and surely has a superb reputation. Further vineyards are
Conca de Barberá and Alella in the same region or Priorato and Taragona in the south
of Barcelona. All destinations can be reached within approx. 1 h by car and are
ideal for a daytrip. Especially, because you will be able to gaze at the lovely
countryside when you drive all along the mediterranean coast. Several stops can be
made at beaches like Sitges, Rosas or Miami Playa. Moreover, you can also visit the
city Taragona and enjoy a day off Barcelona.
In order to travel independently people should consider hiring a car if they arrived
by plane or by train. Having an own apartment in Barcelona (search on
www.oh-barcelona.com , for instance) would additionally simplify tours like these
because one does not depend on the eating schedule of hotels. As living in an
apartment is usually cheaper, visitors would also be able to afford more money on a
daytrip and doing a wine-tasting, for instance. Thus, one could profit more from a
short stay in Barcelona without sticking to the usual attractions.

Web Site = http://www.oh-barcelona.com

Contact Details = Portal del Angel 42, 4B
08002 Barcelona
Spain
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