Guide to Wine & Food in Alicante
The Alicante wine region covers an area of 14,000 hectares with 51 vineyards (Bodegas), which produce over 12 million litres of wine every year.
The wine lands are divided between the arid valley of the Rio Vinalopo, which stretches behind Alicante city where the Monastrell grape shares the vineyards with new varieties, and the second smaller one is La Marina, on the northern coast, where Moscatel grapes flourish in the warm and humid climate.
Alicante's classic dessert wine, Fondillon, is a traditional wine made from grapes allowed to over ripen on the vine and aged for a minimum of 10 years in oak casks.
It has a high alcohol content and turns from red to amber with aging.
The area offers some excellent whites, rosés and reds - young or aged wines which have an intense flavour and colour including Macabeo, Merseguera, Muscatel de Alejandria (sweet Muscat liqueur wine), Planta Fina and Verdil (all whites), and Garnacha Tinta, Garnacha Tintorera, Monastrello, Tempranillo, Bobal, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Syrah reds.
The food in Alicante is typical Mediterranean with rice as the basic ingredient of the region's cuisine.
Some typical rice dishes which are well worth a try include arroz a banda with seafood, arroz a la alicantinarice chicken and shellfish, caldero (typical dish of Tabarca Island), arroz caldos brothy rice dish and the popular olletarice dish with meat and vegetables.
Also try the local tapas and montaditos which are small stuffed rolls which combine meats and salted fish and have become popular throughout the rest of Spain.
To accompany the montaditos try "la paloma" or "el cantabria", which are traditional drinks based on dry aniseed and very cold water, and a herb liqueur respectively.
You can sample the freshest possible fish and shellfish.
Specialties of the area include red shrimps, king prawns, crayfish, squid and red mullet.
Cured salted fish is used a lot with mojama (dried salted tuna), roe, ventresca de atún (tuna belly), the tonyina de sorra type of tuna and herring served as appetizers.
Alicante is also famous for its "cocas saladas" savoury snacks made with tuna or sardines, and "esmorzaret alacantí" with salted sardines, fried egg and chili peppers.
Spain is not renowned for its desserts which can be rather limited in choice and sweet and sickly.
The favourites of this region include rollitos de anis aniseed rolls, la coca boba which is a sweet spongy biscuit, dates and dried fruits, ice cream, turrón de Jijona nougat or chocolate from neighbouring Villajoyosa.
The wine lands are divided between the arid valley of the Rio Vinalopo, which stretches behind Alicante city where the Monastrell grape shares the vineyards with new varieties, and the second smaller one is La Marina, on the northern coast, where Moscatel grapes flourish in the warm and humid climate.
Alicante's classic dessert wine, Fondillon, is a traditional wine made from grapes allowed to over ripen on the vine and aged for a minimum of 10 years in oak casks.
It has a high alcohol content and turns from red to amber with aging.
The area offers some excellent whites, rosés and reds - young or aged wines which have an intense flavour and colour including Macabeo, Merseguera, Muscatel de Alejandria (sweet Muscat liqueur wine), Planta Fina and Verdil (all whites), and Garnacha Tinta, Garnacha Tintorera, Monastrello, Tempranillo, Bobal, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Syrah reds.
The food in Alicante is typical Mediterranean with rice as the basic ingredient of the region's cuisine.
Some typical rice dishes which are well worth a try include arroz a banda with seafood, arroz a la alicantinarice chicken and shellfish, caldero (typical dish of Tabarca Island), arroz caldos brothy rice dish and the popular olletarice dish with meat and vegetables.
Also try the local tapas and montaditos which are small stuffed rolls which combine meats and salted fish and have become popular throughout the rest of Spain.
To accompany the montaditos try "la paloma" or "el cantabria", which are traditional drinks based on dry aniseed and very cold water, and a herb liqueur respectively.
You can sample the freshest possible fish and shellfish.
Specialties of the area include red shrimps, king prawns, crayfish, squid and red mullet.
Cured salted fish is used a lot with mojama (dried salted tuna), roe, ventresca de atún (tuna belly), the tonyina de sorra type of tuna and herring served as appetizers.
Alicante is also famous for its "cocas saladas" savoury snacks made with tuna or sardines, and "esmorzaret alacantí" with salted sardines, fried egg and chili peppers.
Spain is not renowned for its desserts which can be rather limited in choice and sweet and sickly.
The favourites of this region include rollitos de anis aniseed rolls, la coca boba which is a sweet spongy biscuit, dates and dried fruits, ice cream, turrón de Jijona nougat or chocolate from neighbouring Villajoyosa.