Málaga has been a land of wines for centuries. There are important exemplary sources of wines in almost all its areas, whether these are sweet, white, red, rosé or sparkling wines. A great deal of them are certified to conform to existing quality standards of the region in question. Málaga appellation of origin designation for wines (Denominación de Origen Málaga) is one of the oldest such certificates in Europe, as it dates from 1833. It was made in order to protect prestigious wines from that period. Today these certificates or designations make sure to protect wines with no added alcohol. Among this kind of wines, there are two kinds of sweet wines - those that come from overripe grapes and those that are made of raisins. Dry wines also form part of this category (15% of alcohol as minimum) and liquor wines, which are made by adding distilled wine to wine juice in order to stop fermentation. They can be dry, medium dry, medium sweet or sweet wines.

Wines certified as wines with Málaga Mountains appellation of origin designation (Denominación de Origen Sierra de Málaga) are wines in which case the content of alcohol is between 10 and 15.5% These wines include white, red and rosé wines. According to their age, they can be 'crianza' (aged for two years at least, six months of it in oak barrel), 'reserva' (aged for three years at least, twelve months in oak barrel), 'gran reserva' (aged for, at least, five years, 24 months in oak barrel and 36 months in bottle), or 'gran reserva' white and rosé wines (aged five years, six months in oak barrel).

Grapes

Málaga's certified wines are above all made of the white grapes types named Pedro Ximénez and Muscat. As for the Málaga Mountains certification, the range of grape types is wider. They include white grapes such as Pedro Ximénez and Muscat of Alexandria, as well as Muscat Chardonnay, Macabeo, Colombard, Sauvignon Blanc  (Lairen y Doradilla), Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Verdejo and Viognier; and red grapes like Romé, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shyrah, Tempranillo, Garnacha, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot, Graciano, Malbec, Monastrell and Tintilla (Tintilla de Rota).

Certificates given by the Control Board are meant to control the traceability of the origin of wines, as well as whether production processes and quality of products meet specified conditions. At the end of this testing, wine cellars and grape growers can obtain the right to use the designation in question for their products.

Areas of Production

The areas which produce wines certified as wines from Málaga and Málaga Mountains represent 80% of the province. More precisely, these are 67 towns which belong to the following zones: Axarquía, Montes de Málaga, Málaga Norte (Vega de Antequera), Manilva and Serranía de Ronda. Each one of these areas have different kind of ground, terrain and weather conditions. Wines  that carry a Málaga Mountains appellation of origin designation which are made in the Serranía de Ronda can be labelled as wines from this subarea if they are made of grapes from that zone.

As we are talking about a rather wide area which belong to the Province of Málaga, there are plenty of wine cellars that produce many different kinds of wine. Many of these also organize activities, courses, wine testing and visits for tourists. We recommend a thrilling wine tours, part of enotourism in Málaga, during which you can visit some of the most famous wine cellars.  Are you coming?

Tourism and Town Planning Costa del Sol gives a short summary of five wine-producing areas in Málaga at their website:
- Ronda, traditional and modern wine producing
- La Axarquía, quality grapes
- Málaga Mountains, variety and quality of wines
- Northern area (Antequera plain), history and tradition                                   
- Western coast, the rescuing of wine-producing tradition.

If you would like to found out more about every wine cellar, check our web.

In any case, website Wine Routes in Ronda and Málaga is probably the best way to learn about the areas, wines and find out what kind of events you can experience. Don't miss it!

Wine Museum in Málaga

Wine Museum in Málaga is located in an old building from the 18th century turned into a museum, where one can taste some of the best wines in Málaga. However, its main role is to spread social values of wine-producing culture, as well as its prestige. Moreover, on one of the floors of this building you can see how grape juice is made.

Wine Museum is where the Control Board for Certifying Wines from Málaga and Málaga Mountains (Sierra de Málaga) and Raisins from Málaga is.

The raisin from Malaga

The raisins with Designation of Origin Málaga is an exclusive product of the province and, more specifically, of the Axarquía region and the municipality of Manilva on the Costa del Sol. It is an ancestral product that is made from muscatel grapes. For all those interested in learning more about the Malaga raisin, we invite you to link to our news item "Internationally Renowned Málaga's Raisins with Appellation of Origin Designation".