Catalonia · Terra Alta Terra Alta: the region of

“Vírgenes, the direct-pressed wines. Brisats, skin-macerated. Before winery technology took over, Terra Alta's wines were understood that way —a clear way of explaining wine within the community.”

Ancient, calcareous, between two winds

Terra Alta is Catalonia's southernmost wine region, between 300 and 600 metres above sea level, defined by the calcareous ranges of the Serra de Pàndols i Cavalls and els Ports d'Horta de Sant Joan. The Ebro valley shapes its character here, along with the Algars and Canaletes rivers and two winds that govern daily life: the Cerç and the Garbinada. Its winemaking history is almost a thousand years old —the 1296 Costums d'Orta and the 1319 Costums de Miravet, drafted by the Knights Templar, already record vine growing in the region.

A third of the world's white GarnachaAs in much of the Ebro valley and the Mediterranean, the dominant traditional varieties are Garnacha, Macabeo/Viura and Cariñena. The most surprising fact: a third of all the world's white Garnacha is found in Terra Alta. Before wineries became mechanised, wines were classed simply and directly — vírgenes (direct-pressed) and brisats

(skin-macerated)— a classification almost lost after the designation of origin arrived, which shifted the focus towards linking variety with area.

Celler els Mecanismes, passing through Terra Alta The project ofÒscar Soneira , Celler els Mecanismes, makes wine nomadically between Terra Alta and the Penedès, working with native yeasts and minimal intervention. TheAndròmina

, a Cariñena red, is his wine rooted in this calcareous land —a way into Terra Alta without going through the large cooperatives that have historically dominated its production.

Terra Alta's old classification, predating the designation of origin.

Producers of Terra Alta at Terroir Radical