The Can Ribas Vinery with the Tramutana Mountains at the back
Wanted to write about Ligurian Food and Wine in this blog but then remembered that I already covered the topics in 2020. Made we wonder how many blogs I wrote over the last seven years. To my surprise there are over 450.
Wine Tasting and Wine Tours are big business now
Time then to write about the wines of Mallorca, which we have to choose for week three of this summer’s sailing. The topic is a tough challenge though. Most local wines are consumed on the island nowadays. Very little is exported. This is quite different from 2’000 years ago when wine from Mallorca was highly popular in Rome and exported in huge quantities. Pliny the Elder, a Roman Admiral, Naturalist and Philosopher who died when trying to rescue a friend near Pompeii during the eruption of Vesuvius, gave it such glowing reviews that drinking Mallorcan wine became an absolute must.
The oldest Winery in Mallorca, Can Ribas, started modestly in the 17th century
Many local vineries now make references to these golden times, but I doubt that there is a direct link between the wine produced in Roman time and the Mallorcan wine we drink today. In antiquity, wine was always diluted with sea water. At times honey, spices and raisin was added. It was definitely a different experience. As the Roman Empire came to an end, long-distance trade ceased and towns dramatically shrank, the large-scale wine business on Mallorca collapsed by the end of the 5th century. I can’t see how it could have continued.
Many Wineries are only a few decades old like Can Vidalet, founded by a German in 1990
Luckily, Mallorca was Christianized early. After Constantine the Great, the Roman Emperor, proclaimed the Edict of Milan in 313 that allowed Christians to freely practice, the first parishes were established. By the end of the 4th century, the entire island was Christian. Now the local wineries had a new local customer – the Catholic Church. As we know, the celebration of the Holy Mass requires bread and wine which becomes Jesus’ flesh and blood. When wine exports collapsed in the 5th century, there was at least some local demand. I believe this is one of the reason why so many local varieties such as Mantonegro (red), Called (red), Gargollasa (red), Prensal Blanc (white) and Moli (white) survived.
Vineries like Can Ribas specialise in making Wine from indigenous Grapes
The 150 years of Muslim occupation in the Middle Ages had no impact on the wine production. Muslim rulers tolerated the Christian faith. Christians could be taxed. So why convert them? The conquest of Mallorca by the Aragon King James I in 1229 did not change the wine production either. Of course, the Aragonese nobles loved wines as all nobles did in Europe, but they did not constitute a significant uptick in demand. The beginning of Can Ribas, the island’s oldest vineyard, (17th century), is thus modest. Business only started to change in the 2nd half of the 19th century when Spain industrialized and its towns began to expand. The true break-through for Mallorca’s wine industry came after the second world war with the arrival of international tourism. Most wineries are younger than 50 years..
Map of Vineyards in Mallorca - there are actually more but I did not know how to put them all on this google Map
Mallorca is an ideal place for growing grapes. Something the Carthaginians and the Romans early recognized. The central valley in Mallorca is an ancient Graben system filled with debris from the Tramutana mountains to the west. The soil is sandy with lots of gravel, water retention is minimal and the soil's pH is basic – the rocks of the Tramutana mountains are made of limestone, the old Tethys sea floor. Grapes love this type of soil though – the sandy soils of Bordeaux produce one of the world’s greatest wines. Vine roots reach easily 10 meters deep. The climate also favors Mallorca as wine producer. The sea mitigates wild temperature fluctuations. On average, temperatures range from 16 – 18 degrees Celsius and never exceed 31 degrees. The island enjoys more than 2’700 hours of sunshine, rain falls only in fall and winter. Summers, when the grapes ripe, are hot and dry
Grapes like the Aridity of the Soil as here in San Artigues
Without the ability of tasting Mallorcan wines, I had to consult the rankings in Vivino, my favorite wine app. Tapping “Mallorca” into the search field results in a rather long list of wines. The top position is held by “8 Vents”, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Callet and Mantonegro. 8 Vents makes it into the top 2% of global wines. That’s surprising – at least for someone who never tasted Mallorcan wine. A white blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc called “Pere Negre” gets also good reviews. But the list is so long, these two wines can only be my first impression. I guess we have to learn once we arrive on the island.
These local Grapes look very tempting ...