Somontano:
a Denomination of Origin
Currently almost all the vineyard
of Huesca is found in the Somontano, but 100 years ago they were
cultivated in all the province some 52.000 hectares, so many as
now in every Aragón, of which 13.700 were in the administrative
area of Barbastro, 20.000 in the region at present known as Valley
of Huesca, and near 7.000 in Sariñena and Benabarre respectively.
Nevertheless, 150 years ago the surface was approximately the half,
distributed practically by all the province, because the wine was
a beverage of first need and the bad communications obliged everyone
to manage to supply their needs, although the climatic conditions
went not the most appropriate for the vine.
The giddy growth of the vineyard
in the second half of the century XIX owed, as already has been
commented so many times, to the destruction of the vineyards in
France by the apparition of the filoxera and, consequently,
to the increase of the exports of wine to that country. Between
the 1880 and 1886 years , the province of Huesca exports for railroad
an average of 300.000 hectoliters, more the volume that left to
France in cars by the Somport to the market of Olorón. In those
years were established in Barbastro to fourteen merchants to buy
the wine of the zone and to sell it outside; one of them was the
French one Félix Lalanne, of the locality bordolesa of Barsac. The
Lalanne remained in Barbastro, where they bought a farm in which
they planted vineyards and they built a wine cellar continuing the
purest style of Burgundy.
When the French surpassed the crisis
of the filoxera closed the importings of wine; as in every Spain,
in the Somontano began to exceed wine by the four sides of the map
coinciding, little later, with the apparition of this terrible one
plagues in Spain. In zones as Cariñena, more dependent of the wine,
they returned to plant new vineyards but in Huesca, such time with
more alternative possibilities of cultivations, they abandoned the
vine. Between 1900 and 1914 itself to they stopped cultivating in
all the province some 35.000 Has. and in 1930 Barbastro had remained
with only 1.900 Has. Habitually the vine-growers, utilizing some
very rudimentary techniques, they devised the wine in their own
wine cellars to sell it later the merchants. The relations among
both. normally never have been easy, above all when the offering
has been greater that the demand, as it happened in Spain after
the Civil War of 1936.
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This situation took to the own vine-growers
to create cooperative wine cellars better gifted for the production
and sale of the wine without intermediaries; although in the Somontano,
such time by it reduced importance of the vine in those moments,
less interest existed in being associated and it cost more to be
come to an agreement. Antonio Aznar doctor, managed to unite the
wills to found the Cooperative in 1964.
The own one Dr. Aznar was named president
of the cooperative; he requested in 1968 the recognition of the
Denomination of Origin Somontano, although he went in 1980 when
the provisional Regulating Counsel with the purpose to constitute
and to establish the bases and to devise the regulation. By then
the principal meeting of the cooperative gave an impulse to the
management and Luis Garcia Barbero, as managing director, and Pedro
Escudé like wine-expert (enólogo), prompted the entrance of the
wine of the Somontano in the future, with the Señorío of Lazán
as insignia ship, from traditional variety Moristel that they knew
to utilize of efficient form in the communication as distinction
element .
The prestige of Lalanne and the efficient
commercialization of the cooperative, did that the wine of the Somontano
would surprise in the markets. Suddenly the magazines specialized
began to speak of this wine being created some encouraging expectations
in the zone, that attracted outside investors. In 1984 the Denomination
of Origin was recognized officially and in 1986 was created Viñas
del Vero, with a Californian conception of the business of the
wine from varieties very popularized like the Cabernet , Merlot,
Chardonnay, etc., whose wines very were demanded in those moments
by a stratum of consumers with high acquisitive power. At the beginning
of 1990 was created Enate with an elitist idea of the wine, of high
gamma, associated to the art and, of the five existing wine cellars
when was created the Regulating Counsel, has passed to eleven currently;
and other are in project.
The Somontano has been known to take
advantage of the present tendency of the foreign varieties to be
positioned in the markets, but not therefore have been forgot of
its raices. Right now, together al Central of Technology food-farming
of the Government of Aragón, is involved in a project of selection
and recovery of the traditional varieties Moristel and Parraleta,
and wine Cellar Pyrenees (Bodegas Pirineos) there is position in
motion a pioneering study in Spain, destined to know the lans with
capacity to produce the maximum personality in the wines of " terroir".
But the present prestige of the wines of this Denomination of Origin
only has not had repercussion in the development of the zone. Besides
, the Somontano has performed an important role in the development
of the remainder of wines of Aragón.
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