The first written documents referring to wine near Madrid date back to the 13th century. It was praised in the literature of the 15th century and in the Golden Age of the Spanish Empire. Its surface grew and grew to reach some 60,000 hectares. But after the phylloxera, in 1914, there was hardly anything left of it.
It was replanted with grapes easier to maintain and with a higher yield, like Grenache in red and Airén in white.
1990 was a turning point. That was the foundation year of the DO Vinos de Madrid and also the year many estates were born - often family winegrowers who until then brought their grapes to local cooperatives.
This DO comprises 55 communes. It is divided between 3 very different subzones.
-Arganda, in the southwest, occupies the slopes overlooking the Jarama River. This zone represents roughly half of the total vineyard. It is planted with Tinto Fino for red and Malvar and Airén for white.
-Navalcarnero is a small area in the north of Arganda; mainly highlands through which flows the Guadarrama River.
-San Martín de Valdeiglesias: west of Navalcarnero, this zone is the smallest but also the most spectacular and the most mountainous, too. Its soils are mainly granite. It is colder and receives more rainfall than the other two areas.
Here one find two sorts of vineyards: on the one part, the classic Tempranillo of the plains, often complemented with French grapes like Syrah, Cabernet and Merlot; on the other hand, the Grenache of the hills, which is gaining ground (see Méntrida and Jiménez-Landi, with their Comando G, who have initiated a true Grenache revolution).