What is "valdepenas"

Valdepeñas is a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is also the seat of the judicial district that covers the localities of Moral de Calatrava, Santa Cruz de Mudela, Viso del Marqués, Torrenueva, Castellar de Santiago and Almuradiel.

Valdepeñas is a Spanish Denominación de Origen (DO) for wines located in the province of Ciudad Real in the south of Castile-La Mancha ( Spain). It is almost completely surrounded by another DO ( La Mancha) but is an independent DO due to its long history of producing a distinct style of wine known aloque or clarete which is made by mixing white and red grapes.

Valdepeñas is a natural crossroads between the south of Spain, the Mediterranean regions to the east, Extremadura to the west and central plains to the north. To the south of the DO is the Sierra Morena range a natural frontier with Andalusia, and to the east and west there are mountains reaching a height of 1000 m. The most prized vineyards are in Los Llanos in the west and in Las Aberturas in the north. The total area planted to vines is 29,600 ha.