Valle de Güímar

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The Valle de Güímar corresponds to a tectonic graben formed by the sliding of vast volumes of material toward the sea, covering an area of approximately 122 square kilometres.
• Montaña Grande stands out as a volcanic cone of 276 metres formed by the accumulation of pyroclastic material, which gave rise to the Malpaís de Güimar.
• The southern slope is sheltered from the influence of the trade winds by its leeward position, resulting in lower levels of precipitation in that zone.
• Annual rainfall ranges from an average of 161 mm in the coastal zone to 504 mm recorded at Izaña, in the high mountains.
• Mean annual temperature ranges from 19.5 °C at sea level to 9.8 °C at the summits of Izaña.
• Izaña receives more sunshine hours per year than anywhere else in the national territory, with 3,448.5 hours of insolation.
• Vineyards are cultivated at altitudes between 300 and 1,700 metres, distinguishing a zone on black volcanic soils between 800 and 1,700 m and another on soils mulched with jable (fine volcanic sand) between 400 and 800 m.

• The vine was introduced by Castilian settlers in the fifteenth century, and by 1550 notable quantities of wine were already being produced, enjoying fame in Europe, Africa, and the Americas until 1680.
• From the mid-seventeenth century onwards, production declined considerably under pressure from Andalusian and Portuguese wines, although consumption recovered during the eighteenth century.

• The wines are harmonious, well-integrated, and balanced, highly aromatic, with a predominance of mineral character and notes of tropical fruits.
• The wines display a wide chromatic diversity, presenting a broad range of colours within the appellation.

• The difference in altitude between the two cultivation zones encourages diversity among the wines and, with it, chromatic and aromatic diversity across the range of productions.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the specification (pliego de condiciones).

All appellations in Spain

Sources

• National pliego de condiciones (PDF)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-ES-A0980
• Official trade body site — Consejo Regulador Valle Güímar