Interesting one this. One authority suggests Macabeo's origins lie in the Middle East, but what is certain is that the springboard for its current European spread is Spain, from where it has colonized southern France.

Macabeo can be picked early - in which instance it produces a pretty dull wine with little character - or late. Later harvesting ensures the ensuing wine has proper fruit character. Most interesting is that Macabeo is used to produce wines of pretty much every style. As Viura it is by far the most widely-planted white grape of Rioja. In the Roussillon it is used to make both dry whites and fortified wines. It is used in the production of rosé wines, is added to red wines to temper their strength...and, with Parellada and Xarel-Lo, is a constituent of Cava, Spain's most celebrated sparkling wine produced south of Barcelona. It is clear that Macabeo is something of a jack-of-trades-various!

In Calatayud, we're in the north east of Spain and an exceedingly dry climate. Co-operatives hold sway here and investment in stainless steel and refrigeration in the winery has enabled producers to make the move from producing muscluar red wines into bottling crisp, dry white wines.

Virgen de la Sierra is the oldest winery in Calatayud, having been making wine for 60 years. The vineyards are rocky and at altitude: 750 to 1,100 metres above sea level. At these heights, day/night temperature fluctuations are significant and create great finesse in the wine grown here.