Holiday island in focus: What you need to know about viticulture in Mallorca

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Mallorca holidays are still going strong. More than 100,000 tourists from Switzerland visit the Balearic island every year. In addition to wild party nights and standout flavors, Mallorca has so much more to offer. For example, the centuries-old winemaking tradition.

In the 19th century, Majorcans were making sweet wines from the Malvasia grape variety, known far beyond the island. Introduced to Europe from the United States in the 1860s, Phylloxera initially spared Mallorca, helping the island significantly increase its wine sales. In 1891, approximately 50 million liters of wine were exported from Majorca.

Various viticulture in Mallorca

Eventually phylloxera spread to Mallorca, leading to the death of almost all the vines. Nearly half a century later, the tourist boom of 1960 revived Mallorca’s status as a wine producer. In 1990, Mallorca’s first protected designation of origin for wine, DO Binissalem, was created.

In Binissalem, both white and dark vines are planted in an area of ​​just over 400 hectares between 70 and 140 meters above sea level. While the most common red wines are made from Manto Negro and Callet, the Moll grape variety stands out in white wines. Today, the wines are mostly drunk in Mallorca, but a small portion is also exported.

In addition to its second appellation of origin, Pla i Llevant, which covers just over 300 hectares, grape vines are also planted on many other lands in Mallorca. However, the total vineyard area of ​​over 2,000 hectares is less than half that of the canton of Valais. Most Majorcan wines, whether white, red or rosé, are best when young.

Source : Blick