Isla de Menorca

The autonomous region of the Balearic Islands (Catalan: Illes Balears, Spanish: Islas Baleares), which belongs to Spain and has its capital in Palma (on Mallorca), covers a total of 4,992 km² and is located in the western Mediterranean. The archipelago includes the five main inhabited islands of Mallorca (3,604 km²), Menorca (695 km²), Cabrera (16 km²), Ibiza (572 km²) and Formentera (83 km²). There are also 146 uninhabited islands, including the Dragonera and Pantaleu, which are protected rocky islands. The history has always been strongly linked to Catalonia, which is why Catalan is spoken there today (in addition to Castilian). The centre with Mallorca lies around 260 km east of the Spanish mainland near Valencia. It stretches 260 kilometres from west to east and 120 kilometres from north to south.

History

The Phoenicians probably brought viticulture to the Balearic Islands. Under Roman rule, wine was praised by Pliny the Elder (23-79). During the almost five centuries of Moorish rule from the 8th to the 12th century, viticulture only survived because dried grapes were a popular foodstuff due to their long shelf life. In 1221, Jaime I (1213-1276) conquered the islands and founded his own kingdom of Aragón (which also included the French Roussillon and Spanish Catalonia ), which lasted until 1343. During this time, wine from...