Wine tourism by town in Madrid

From Madrid to heaven with velvet wines.

A brief note on the history of wine in Madrid. The origin of the tradition of cultivation in Madrid dates back to the centuries of the Reconquest and repopulation of this area, which took place around the 9th century. The repopulation of the lands of Madrid was carried out by people from Old Castile, especially from Segovia, who, in exchange for repopulating the area, were obliged to cultivate vines by contract with their feudal lord. This wine from Madrid gained prestige until, well into the Middle Ages, it was mentioned by the Archpriest of Hita, the famous writer of the Book of Good Love, a marvellous piece of Spanish literature. Unfortunately, in the 19th century, with the phylloxera epidemic, the vineyards in Madrid were practically ruined, and the blow was so severe that it was only from the 1950s onwards that the region began to show signs of revival and vigour. An interesting detail of this appellation is the use of Malvar for the production of white wines. As for red wines, Tempranillo and Syrah are normally used as the most frequent grapes. Even so, the D.O. of Madrid is divided into different wine sub-zones: Arganda (tinto fino and malvar), Navalcarnero (Garnacha tinta, malvar), San Martín de Valdeiglesias (garnacha tinta, albillo real), el molar (garnacha tinta and malvar).