About the Jumilla DOP and its old vines.

Vine-growing in Jumilla has a long history. Traces of vitis vinífera along with wine utensils and archaeological vestiges found in Jumilla date back to 3000 BC, the oldest in Europe.

The appellation’s vines are planted at elevations ranging from 320 to 980 meters within mountain ranges rising as high as 1,380 meters. These form the boundaries of the appellation, from the extreme south-east of Albacete (taking in the municipalities of Hellín, Montealegre del Castillo, Fuente Álamo, Ontur, Albatana and Tobarra) to the north of Murcia province with the municipality of Jumilla. The appellation covers more than 20,000 hectares of vines, most of them dry-farmed bush vines grown predominantly on limestone soils.

Old vines in the Jumilla DOP cover more than 12% of the total surface area, with the Monastrell grape variety making up most of it (90%). It is estimated that a large proportion of these old vines are ungrafted and cover at least 1,000 hectares, 89% of which are planted with Monastrell, followed by 6% Airén and 3% Garnacha Tintorera.

The climatic conditions in Jumilla, with annual rainfall barely reaching 300mm and over 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, are highly conducive to organic farming, which is widely practiced in the area.

www.vinosdejumilla.org