La Marina
Northern Sub-Region of Alicante
Alicante region in the south-eastern part of Spain is one of the DO wine regions of the country.
The region is found to be having a long winemaking history and has lots of wines to offer the wine lovers across the globe.
When geographically seen, this DO wine region can be divided into two distinctive sub-regions. The northern sub-region is called “La Marina” – the area under review here.
Let’s see all about La Marina and its wines here…
Description of La Marina Sub-Region
As the title suggests, La Marina represents the northern sub-region of Alicante. As you might be already aware, Alicante in the south-eastern corner of the country is bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
In this, the coastal area between the towns of “Denia” and “Calpe” is called as “La Marina”.
Elaborately seen, this sub-region is found to be occupying the coastal point that extends from the town of “Denia”, which is the ancient Greek colony south to another town “Calpe”.
This sub-region is also covering some inland region up to a few miles to the west of “Parcent”.
Climate and Soils in La Marina
When it comes to the climatic conditions of La Marina, the region’s close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea is giving it with the mild Mediterranean type of climate.
The rainfall is seemed to be rare here and when it comes, it can be quite heavier.
The annual rainfall is found to be around 500 mm, which is slightly above when compared to the southern counterpart, which receives only around 300 mm per year.
While the summers here are found to be hotter, the winters are milder in nature.
During the summers, the maximum temperatures can go up to 30 degrees C and during the winters, the minimum temperatures will be around 13 degrees C.
There will be some occasional frost. In the entire part of Alicante, the soils are found to be mainly limestone and this applies to La Marina. The soils in Alicante are found to be carrying little organic matter.
Wines and Wine Grapes of La Marina
Although we can find a wide variety of wine grapes in the Alicante DO wine region, the La Marina is found to be ideal for the cultivation of Moscatel grape variety.
And hence, this grape variety, which is otherwise known as “Muscat”, is dominating the production here.
This grape variety has been in wine production since the ancient Greek period itself.
The Moscatel grape is found to be achieving a high must weight in the warmer climates of La Marina and hence, it is being utilized for the production of traditional dessert and fortified wines of the region.
The most famous of those wines are being labeled as “Moscatel de Alicante” or more specifically, “Moscatel de la Marina”.
Characteristics of Moscatel de la Marina
This is a sweet wine from La Marina. After harvesting the Moscatel grapes, the stripping of the clusters will be performed.
After this, the wort of “Moscatel de la Marina” will be macerated at a low temperature along with the skins to attain ideal aromatic extraction.
Then, the wort would undergo an uncovering process by the addition of alcohol to the wine until the stopping of fermentation.
Thus, the wine would achieve the desired sugar levels. After these steps, bleeding would take place in the deposits without any pressing activities.
Then, the alcohol will be added to attain the desired levels. After this, filtering and bottling will be done as quickly as possible to achieve the maximum fruit flavours.
The result is the light straw yellow coloured, nearly transparent wine with medium intensity.
The copious notes would give us the tropical fruit and citrus flavours combined with floral and herbal hints. The taste of the wine will be mild, juicy, and fresh.
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Tharani Rajamanickam
Winewriter
I am Tharani, I have Bachelors degree in Biotechnology. I am passionate about the wine industry and continue to explore, learn and share and I bring in a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help you keep updated with best wines in the world. Stay tuned..
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