The final creation of DO Toro is relatively recent. The project for setting-up DO Toro started in the seventies. This project came to an end in 1987 when the DO Toro was finally established. Since then, the singularities of its vineyards and wines have been officially recognized.
The wine producing area governed by the Toro D.O. is situated to the southeast of the province of Zamora, and includes part of the natural regions of Tierra del Vino (the land of Wine), the Guareña Valley and Tierra de Toro (the Land of Toro), and next to the plateaus of Tierra del Pan (the Land of Bread) and Tierra de Campos (the Farmlands).
Morales de Toro, the village in which the Pagos del Rey winery is located, holds half of the DO Toro production. The winery is the largest in the area, and it controls a third of all Tinta de Toro production.
Information on grape varieties, climate conditions and planting systems
AUTHORIZED GRAPE VARIETIES: Tinta de Toro (autochthonous) and Garnacha, for red wines. Malvasía and Verdejo for white wines. The main variety promoted for the DO Toro Regulatory Council, is Tinta de Toro.
PLANTING DENSITY: The maximum planting density will be 2,700 stocks per Hectare and a minimum of 900 stocks per Hectare.
PRUNING SYSTEM: As established by the Regulating Council, a maximum load of 32,000 buds per Hectare is allowed.
PRODUCTION AND OUTPUT: the maximum authorized production limit for the Tinta de Toro red variety is 6,000 kilos of grapes per hectare. The remaining varieties have to fulfil the following requirements:
Morales de Toro y Pedrosa del Rey:
Tinta de Toro: 6,000 Kg/Ha.
Garnacha Tinta: 9,000 Kg./Ha.
Malvasía: 9,000 Kg./Ha.
Verdejo: 6,000 Kg./Ha.
Other municipalities:
Tinta de Toro: 6,000 Kg/Ha.
Garnacha Tinta: 7,000 Kg./Ha.
Malvasía: 7,000 Kg./Ha.
Verdejo: 4,000 Kg./Ha.
The maximum output cannot exceed 70 litres of wine per 100 kilos of grapes.
CLIMATE AND SOIL: Toro has an extreme and continental climate. The average annual rainfall is 350-400 mm, mainly from May to June and in December. The annual average temperature is 12- 13ºC, with maximum temperatures of 37º C in July and minimum (-11ºC) in March and December. There are 2,600 hours of sunshine per year.
The soil is made up of sand sediment, clay and calcareous conglomerates from the Pliocene, which produce brown limestone topsoil on loose material. The materials vary between loamy materials and large and fine grain sand, with limestone and detrytic marl formed during the Miocene era.
