VALDEPEÑAS > CIUDAD REAL > CASTILE - LA MANCHA

The wine region

Located southwest of Madrid, the Valdepeñas region is quite possibly the Spanish region with the most tradition in winemaking. The grape variety most succesfully used is cencibel, a tempranillo grape adapted to the climate and soil. In the 20th century, Valdepeñas created its own personal style of blush, Aloque, from a blend of red and white grapes. Today, there is increasing interest in thesmooth, velvety aged reds.

Local gastronomy

Ciudad Real's cuisine has transformed from basic recipes to a nesting ground for truly wonderful dishes, filled with the flavors of the region. This comes as no real surprise due the second most read book after the Bible: Don Quixote de la Mancha.

The region's gastronomy requires little elaboration, as it corresponds to the necessities of the people who have traditionally been sheperds and farmers. Tojunto llamb stew), atascaburras (codfish and potato stew), hartatunos (fried potatoes with peppers), duelos y quebrantos (a ham-based dish), andrajos (cod and clam dish), migas (fried bread crumbs) and several delicious dishes such as huevos a la porreta (eggs and and alboronía (vegetable stew),made with the excellent Almagro eggplants, are examples of the cuisine designed for rapid preparation, hearty sustance and exquisite falvor, in order to stave off hunger during the long days in the fields or pastures. There is also a game cuisine on display in the region, with delicacies such as Red deer with sauce, wild boar, Hare with sauce, and partridge.

More information

Download the brochure "Rutas de enoturismo de Castilla - La Mancha". Only available in Spanish.

Consejo Regulador Valdepeñas - Oficial web site of the Valdepeñas Wine Region.