The way up is challenging, but the reward is magnificent: The view sweeps unhindered over the land behind the Costa Blanca, mountains and valleys merge into one another.
It is fascinatingly beautiful, varied, wants to be discovered and conquered. Its charms are not as obvious as those of the coast, which immediately wins people‘s favor with waves glistening in the sun, deep blue sea and white beaches.
The land behind the sea, the province of Alicante, has been a cultural landscape for ages and is characterized by agriculture. Mainly almonds, wine, oranges and olives are cultivated and this since thousands of years. The cultivation of wine has been documented since the 6th century before Christ, as excavations of an Iberian settlement at Montgó prove. The Moors also cultivated viticulture and in 1472 convinced the royal court of Valencia of the quality of their wines.
Even then, the microclimate must have been particularly favorable for the vines. Today, the region is favored by its special light, the moderate temperatures that rarely become extreme, and the good soil that provides the vines with optimal moisture and nutrients. Two wine-growing areas are typical of the region: first, the vineyards in Marina Alta, which still benefit from the nearby sea breeze. Here grow grapes such as Muscat d‘Alexandrie, which are made into sweet white wines or spumante.
A dry climate characterizes the wine-growing areas along the Vinalopó River, which flows into the Mediterranean at Salinas de Santa Pola, and around Foia de Castalla. Here on the heights, sometimes several hundred meters above sea level, rainfall is rare and the soil is rich in limestone and poor in nutrients. A contrast to the lush Marina Alta. Red and rosé wines dominate, some of which are organically grown.
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