Winemaking

No mechanical harvester runs on the steep terraces of the Priorat. The slopes are too steep, the walls too tight, so the appellation, from Porrera to Torroja del Priorat, mandates hand-harvesting as a rule. Picking begins only once the red varieties have reached at least twelve and a half percent, and the whites at least twelve percent, potential alcohol, usually in late September or October.

The vines themselves traditionally grow as free-standing bush vines, without wire or stake. This form offers resistance to the wind and shields the leaves from the harsh sun. Per hectare, there must be at least two thousand five hundred and at most nine thousand vines, with new plantings since 2013 requiring at least three thousand. Irrigation is used only in exceptional cases, when the plant itself would otherwise be at risk.

How much ultimately goes into the barrel is strictly capped: at most six thousand kilos of grapes per hectare for red varieties and eight thousand for white, yielding roughly thirty-nine and fifty-two hectoliters of wine respectively. During pressing, no more than sixty-five liters of wine may be extracted from a hundred kilos of grapes. Anything beyond that is considered too diluted for the Denominación.

After fermentation, for red wines usually with extended skin contact for color and tannin, barrel aging begins. Anyone wanting to sell their wine as vino de guarda must age it for at least twelve months in an oak barrel. Only then may it be bottled. Many cellars go considerably longer, some over two years. The firm tannin of the Samsó grapes needs time to soften.

One rule applies strictly across the entire region: bottling may only take place within the zone itself. A winery outside the Priorat may not carry the name on its label, even if the grapes come from here. This rule is called embotellado en origen and is among the stricter requirements of a Denominación de Origen Calificada. It's meant to prevent the wine from being diluted or blended anywhere along the way to the bottle.