DO Alicante

Where it is

DO Alicante covers vineyards across much of the province of Alicante, at the southern end of the Valencian region. To the north lie DO Valencia and, further north-west, DO Utiel-Requena. Alicante’s two sub-zones feel like two different worlds.

Inland lies the sub-zone officially called Alicante, better known as the Vinalopó: the valley of the river of the same name and the hills around it, reaching towards the borders with Murcia and Castilla-La Mancha. It is Monastrell country, like the neighbouring DOs of Jumilla and Yecla, just over the regional border.

La Marina is the coastal north-east of the province, around the Marina Alta and the town of Dénia. It is Moscatel country.

Landscape and climate

The climate is Mediterranean: very sunny and dry. Inland, in the Vinalopó, summers are hotter and winters colder than on the coast, and rain is scarce. That suits Monastrell, a grape that needs plenty of heat to ripen fully. In La Marina, the sea keeps temperatures milder all year round.

Grapes and wines

Among the reds, Monastrell leads. It gives deep-coloured, full-bodied wines with ripe blackberry and plum, often with a hint of wild herbs or pepper. Styles run from young and fruity to oak-aged, and Monastrell makes rosados (rosé) too. Garnacha Tintorera, Garnacha, Tempranillo, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon also grow here, used alone or in blends.

Whites come from grapes such as Merseguera and Macabeo, and from the region’s other signature grape, Moscatel. In La Marina, Moscatel de Alejandría (Muscat of Alexandria) is made both dry and sweet. A dry Moscatel plays a small trick on you: it smells sweet and grapey, then tastes crisp and dry. The sweet ones are golden and honeyed.

Fondillón is Alicante’s historic speciality. The Monastrell is picked late, when the grapes are overripe and very sweet. All that sugar makes it naturally strong, with no alcohol added: it is not a fortified wine. Under the DO’s rules, it then spends at least ten years in oak, often in a solera: a stack of old barrels where wine drawn from the oldest is replaced, little by little, with younger wine. The years drain away its red colour, leaving it amber-brown, with aromas of dried figs, raisins, walnuts and caramel. Depending on the producer and the age, it can taste anywhere from dry to gently sweet.

At the table

• Arroz con costra, from Elche: rice with meat and sausages, baked under a golden crust of egg. A Monastrell red has the weight to match.
• Arroz con conejo, rice with rabbit, sometimes with snails: a Monastrell red or rosado.
• Gamba roja de Dénia, the local red prawns, usually cooked simply: a dry Moscatel or a crisp white.
• Savoury coca, a thin, flat bake with toppings such as roasted vegetables: a rosado.
• Turrón, the almond nougat of Jijona (soft) and Alicante (hard), with a sweet Moscatel.
• Fondillón with nuts or a mature cheese.

Ripe, full-bodied Monastrell can overwhelm delicate seafood, so keep it for meat and the richer inland rice dishes. Sweet Moscatel and Fondillón usually come in small glasses, and Fondillón is stronger than most table wines.

Good to know

• A DO guarantees where a wine comes from and the rules it was made under. It does not promise a taste.
• The official list of authorised grapes and the borders of the two sub-zones are kept by the DO’s regulatory council, the Consejo Regulador, and change over time. The grapes on this page are ones you will often meet, not the full list.
• In France, Monastrell is called Mourvèdre: a handy name if you spot it on a foreign label.
• The word Moscatel alone won’t tell you whether a wine is dry or sweet; look for seco or dulce on the label.
• Styles vary a lot between producers and vintages, so treat these notes as a starting point. For other regions, see Spain’s list of DOs.