Discover Toro

Currently enjoying a renaissance, the Toro DO in Spain’s northwest is both challenging and rewarding for winemakers. Natasha Hughes MW introduces the region and its wines – a must for admirers of big and spicy reds.

- Natasha Hughes MW

According to legend, the medieval clock tower in the town of Toro was built with mortar made from sand, cement and the local red wine. Apparently, as far as the townsfolk were concerned, there was so much Tinta de Toro on hand that they didn’t see the point in trudging a few hundred metres downhill to the banks of the Duero river to collect water to moisten the paste.

Many regions with long and venerable viticultural histories have their own tall stories concerning the importance of wine to local life. Few, however, have the historical record to back up the myths. Toro’s wine, on the other hand, is widely documented as having been a favourite of the Spanish royal family for centuries. It was also, it turns out, the tipple of choice for Christopher Columbus and his crew on their epic journey to the Americas in 1492, largely because the influential confessor to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, Columbus’s patrons, was a local boy made good.

The huge concentration and generous alcohol levels of Toro’s wines allowed them to withstand such long journeys with ease. In the aftermath of the successful voyage to the New World, the wines began to travel further afield, not only to the Americas but also to the trading ports of northern Spain and thence to the Low Countries. So entrenched in Spanish culture was the quality of the red wines of Toro that the region was among the first to be awarded DO status in 1933.

Then came the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). In the aftermath of the destruction, Toro’s winemakers lost their focus and their DO fell into abeyance.