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Malaga Dulce
 Malaga dulce is a sweet fortified wine originating in the southern Spanish
city of Malaga, made exclusively from the Pedro Ximenez and Moscatel grapes. The
centre of
Malaga production is in the Sierra de Almijara, a mountain range along
the east of the province, along with Antequera, Archidonia, San Pedro
Alcantara, Velez Malaga and Competa.
Since the 19th century the consumption of sweet wines has fallen out of
fashion, but recently there has been a renewed interest; this may be due to the
fact that some of the world's greatest wines are sweet and considered to be as
delicious and
satisfying as any other table wine, if not more so.
The wine making history of Malaga is one of the oldest in Europe. The first
historical testimony found on winemaking in Malaga dates back to the early Roman
Empire, and consists in a fermentation tank discovered in Cartama, around 30
kilometres from the capital. During the Moorish conquest the rigid laws of the
Koran, which prohibited the consumption of wine, came into conflict with the
long-standing local wine-drinking tradition. However, little by little, the
harsh penalties, which included the death penalty for being drunk, were
substituted by fines (garima) and these, in turn, were progreeively replaced by
taxes (qabala), which were payable by the wine merchants and became one of the
most important public resources.
Years later, on the 12th January 1502, the catholic Monarchs confirmed,
by Royal Order in Seville, the creation of Winemakers Guild with privileges that
were re-confirmed by Juana of Castile in 1513. In 1791, Spain´s Ambassador in
Moscow, Señor Gálvez, gave the Tsarina and Empress of Russia, Chatherine II,
some crates of Malaga wine and so great was her pleasure that she declared
exempt from taxes all Malaga wines imported to the Empire from the Winemakers
Guild, the winemakers guild still continues to exist today.
Sweet wines can be made in a variety of ways but they fall into two main
categories; Liquor wines or Naturally Sweet wines. Either the wine is fortified
by the addition of alcohol or the grapes are left to naturally concentrate their
sugars in the sun, this last method, the soleo method, is used to make the
Malaga dulce wine. The wine can be aged in oak from 2 years upto 5 years or
more.
Malaga wines have a multitude of sensationsm to the taste. The huge
range of colours, aromas and flavours open the doors to curiosity as each Malaga
wine represents a new discovery.
From sweet to semi dry and colours that range from yellow to black; aromas
that run from floral to fruity, in young wines, to the complex aromas of the
añejos and traseñejos; and flavours that vary from the fresh varieties to those
typical mature aged wines offer an ample choice of Malaga wines in which there
is one to suit all tastes and every occasion.
In the kitchen, Malaga wines contribute with all their sensorial
complexity to make dishes that are true delicacies, whilst cocktails and ice
cream are other gastronomic areas in which Malaga wines are very much
recommended.
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