toro & tinta de toro

Toro is a small district located in the far west of the large region of Castilla y Leon.

Wine has been made in Toro since the end of the 1st century BC, dating to a pre-Roman Greek influences. In the Early Middle Ages, the wines from Toro were among the first to be traded in the region of the River Duero. After the fall of Rome,

King Alfonso IX granted lands to several religious orders with the understanding that they would plant vines, and many of the 40 churches that exist in the town of Toro today were built thanks to the wealth generated by the wine trade. The reputation of the wines from Toro grew and it began to be sold in other cities further afield such as Seville and Palencia. At this time the wine producers built underground wineries (bodegas) in order to obtain better quality wines and to have more effective temperature control.

At the end of the 19th century great quantities of wine were exported to France during the phylloxera crisis, which did not affect the local vines as they were protected by the sandy soil. For this reason, the vines of other regions of Spain were replaced by vines from Toro. For this reason, Toro still has a number of very old vineyards with pre-phylloxera Tinta de Toro, which in recent years have been used to source grapes for special cuvées.

The Toro DOP was created in 1987, and today is one of Spain's leading wine DOPs.

Climate

The DOP has an extreme continental climate (long, hot summers, cold winters) with Atlantic influences. Temperatures vary greatly, ranging from -11°C in winter to 37°C in summer. Rainfall is light, around 350-400 mm per annum. Hours of sunlight received are about 2,600 per annum with a maximum of 3,000.

Soil

The soil is formed by sediments of sand, clays and lime-bearing puddingstone, which produce a dark lime-bearing topsoil, with fine and coarse sands.

The vineyards are at heights of between 620 m and 750 m above sea level.

Bodega FArina

The Farina family traces its roots in the region to the 1940’s as growers of Tinta de Toro- the local version of Tempranillo. Joined by their son Manuel in 1968 fresh off his degree in oenology, they quickly set to work to put the Toro region on the map, and when Toro DO was recognized in 1987, Manuel became the Consorzio’s first President.

Today Manuel is joined by his son Manu (BS Agricultural Engineering, MS Oenology), and today the father/son team produce wines that showcase innovation with time-honored tradition, focussing on the local Tinta de Toro grape.

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