Good year for Balearic wine

This year's grape harvest in the Balearics is the same as last year's and the wine sector is placing the emphasis on quality. The region's vineyards have produced 4.5 million kilos of grapes this year and soon Majorca will have a new denomination of origin, wine from the Tramuntana. Sources at the Balearic Ministry for Agriculture said yesterday that despite the drought, the region's vineyards have managed to produce a similar harvest to last year because of the introduction of new machinery and plantations. Some 30'000 hectolitres of wine will be produced this year in the three denominations of origina, Binissalem-Mallorca, Pla i Llevant and the forthcoming Tramuntana. The Ministry is however under pressure from vineyards excluded from the existing denominations of origin to create a Majorca wine label. There are a number of excellent vineyards dotted across Majorca, but they are unable to market themselves as Majorcan wine, in accordance with commercial legislation, they can only be labelled as a Balearic wine.