Empordà-Costa Brava DO [ahm-poor-DAHN KOH-stah BRAH-vah]
A small DO located at the very northeastern tip of Spain in the Catalonia region. (Empordà-Costa Brava is the Catalan spelling; Ampurdán-Costa Brava is the Spanish.) This region’s northern border is France; the Mediterranean lies to the east. It consists of many small landowners, and most of the wines are made by thirteen large cooperatives. Empordà-Costa Brava DO produces mostly rosés, but also red and white wines. The red wines are made with Garnacha tinta (Grenache) and Cariñena (Carignan); rosé wines use those grapes plus the two white varieties—Macabeo and Xarel-lo. White wines are made from these last two grapes. There are a variety of wine styles made here, including rancios and fortified wines, of which Garnatxa—the local vino de licor made from Garnacha (Grenache)—is a specialty. Producers are experimenting with nonlocal varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Merlot, Muscat, Riesling, and Tempranillo, all of which are allowed in DO wines.
The New Wine Lovers Companion, 2nd Edition, by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Copyright © (1) 2003, 1995 by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst. Reprinted by arrangement with Barron's Educational Series, Inc.