Monòver/Monóvar
Alicante/Alacant · Valencian Community
DO Alicante13.116inhabitants
1257first mention
1904wine documented
A town of the Medio Vinalopó of Andalusi origin, with an Almohad castle; birthplace of Azorín and home to a winemaking tradition tied to Fondillón.
First mention: Between 1253 and 1257 Monóvar passed to the Lordship of Villena; before 1258 it already had its own coat of arms (approximate date).
The legend
exports 19th century; phylloxera 1904; Quiles winery 1926; Mañán cooperative 1962The Fondillón that travelled by train
Monóvar prides itself on the fact that Fondillón, the rancio monastrell wine that tradition associates with the courts of Europe, is still ageing in its casks. The medieval origin of that fame is regional tradition, not local documentation. The documented story begins in the 19th century, when Monóvar's wines were exported by rail to France, Germany, Russia and the Americas, until in 1904 phylloxera forced the economy to diversify. In 1926 Primitivo Quiles's winery moved from Pinoso to Monóvar to send its wine by train to the port of Alicante, and it still keeps a Fondillón solera from 1948. In 1962 some thirty growers from the plain of El Mañán joined their small wineries in the cooperative now called Santa Catalina del Mañán.
Alive today: Fondillón at several wineries (Primitivo Quiles's 1948 solera) and the Santa Catalina del Mañán cooperative
Wineries and their wines
- Caterina
- Embaucador Chardonnay
- Embaucador Monastrell
- Gran Mañán Fondillón
- Gran Mañán Moscatel
- Mañá Marisquero
- Terra Mañá Espumoso
- Viña Zarcillo Tinto
- Arbui
- Arbui Blanco
- Arbui V·47
- Bilaire
- Bilaire Blanco
- Cuesta de Reig
- Cuesta de Reig Blanco
- Borrasca
- El Caire Monastrell
- El Caire Rosado
- Fondillón 1996 'Estés donde estés'
- Fondillón 50 años
- Riesling Blanco
- Fondillón Solera 1948
- Monastrell Crianza
- Moscatel Extra
- Moscatel Laurel
- PQ Roble
- Raspay Reserva
- Tinto Cono 4
- Vermut P. Quiles
- Cantalà Brisado
- Cantalà Rosado
- Cantalà Tinto
- MonVal
- Punxó Rosado
- Punxó Tinto
- Recapte
- Tintorera
Wine towns nearby