Capital of Spain with almost three million inhabitants in the region of the same name in the centre of Spain within the Castile-La Mancha region. However, Madrid only became the capital in 1562, when King Philip II (1527-1598) moved his court there. The city is the centre of Spain and the seat of the Spanish government. The king, a Catholic archbishop and important administrative and military authorities also reside here. The region is divided into three subzones: San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Navalcarnero and Arganda. Relatively late, in 1914 (30 years later than in France and northern Spain), the area was devastated by phylloxera, which destroyed a large part of the 60,000 hectares of vines. This forced the winegrowers to replant suitable grape varieties and raised the quality standard. The vineyards cover about 11,500 hectares of vines. The white wine varieties Airén, Malvar (Lairén), Albillo Mayor, Parellada, Macabeo and Moscatel de Grano Menudo (Muscat Blanc) are cultivated, as well as the red wine varieties Garnacha Tinta, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The only DO area in a semicircle around the city is Vinos de Madrid.
![]()
Serious sources on the internet are rare - and Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one such source. When researching for my articles, I regularly consult the wein.plus encyclopaedia. There I get reliable and detailed information.
Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi