utielrequena.org

	The basic functions of the Regulatory Counsel are:
	Controls on wine quality carried out by the Technical Department (Inspectors / Supervisors) of the RCDO. Throughout the summer months many analyses of maturity are carried out to establish the ideal date for harvesting. After the harvest the first checks on the wines destined for the “Superior” category are made. The rest of the wines, once they have been made, are also subjected to strict physicochemical and organoleptic testing to achieve the protection and qualification of the RCDO Utiel-Requena. Permanent monitoring of the “Tradition”, “Cask Aged”, “Crianza”, “Reserva” and “Gran Reserva” wines is also carried out. The Regulatory Counsel carries out the Certification processes in agreement with the EN-45011 European standard. Protection and promotion of the varieties cultivated in the region. Informative and promotional work. The Counsel enacts the existing standard to ensure that all its members fulfil the regulatory requirements in areas such as grape harvesting, transport and delivery to the registered Bodegas, etc. In addition, the Regulatory Counsel develops, together with the registered Bodegas, various national and international promotional activities for the wines of Utiel-Requena.

	he board of the Regulatory Counsel is made up of a total of 19 elected people, –Counsellors and President – who periodically meet in plenary sessions to take decisions on the future of the sector and on day-to-day issues in the processes and functions of the body. The system for electing Counsellors is regulated as a function of representation of the whole viti / viniculture sector – Vine Growers, agricultural organizations, members of cooperatives, private companies and representatives of the autonomous administration – and elections are held every four years. In addition to the board or Plenary the Regulatory Counsel for Denomination of Origin for Utiel-Requena has the following areas of personnel:

asting or Qualification Committee:
The Counsel for Denomination of Origin for Utiel-Requena currently has 26 outside specialists which form the Tasting or Qualification Committee. The tasters are responsible for subjecting the wines – which have previously passed all analytical checks – to an exhaustive sensory examination to qualify them as suitable or not to display the label or seal of the “Utiel-Requena” certification that guarantees the quality of the wine.

he RCDO standard is laid out in the Agriculture, Fisheries and Foods Regional Ministry order of the 11th March 1999 and brings together all aspects intrinsic to the manufacture of wine from vineyard production to aging and including both qualification and wine characteristics.
The Plenary of the RCDO for Utiel-Requena approved – on the 25th April 2001 – and the Government ratified – in June 2003 – an ambitious change to the regulations to improve the growing, manufacturing and aging processes with the aim of achieving maximum quality in the wines from this region. Among the changes set down in the standard stand out the recognition of the Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc grapes, as authorised varieties; new types of wine such as the native Liqueur varieties – Bobal and Planta Nova – Cask Aged and Tradition Red.

Regulations for the Regulatory Counsel for Denomination of Origin Utiel-Requena
(Spanish, Adobe PDF Format, 79 KB)

ead Office of the RCDO Utiel-Requena: The 'Bodega Redonda'.
The building that makes up the so called Bodega Redonda – Head Offices of the Regulatory Counsel for Denomination of Origin for Utiel-Requena since 1986 - is formed by two structures: one circular and the other rectangular which were both Bodegas in the 14th and 20th centuries respectively. Both buildings were carefully restored to conserve the original style and now occupy a whole block thanks to fenced and landscaped surroundings.
The circular building was built in 1891 in an architectural style based on noble materials such as natural stone, solid blocks of clay, iron, wood and lime and sand mortar. The slope of the street allowed the carriages of the time to unload the grapes into the Bodega’s hoppers – which give onto the railed street on the highest side – that, due to their own weight, filled a large winepress on the ground floor. From here the freshly-made must was distributed via a waterwheel with a rotating arm to vats placed around the perimeter of the building. The Bodega Redonda changed hands many times throughout the years until, in 1991, it was inaugurated as the Museum of Vine and Wine of the Valencian Community.


	nside the Bodega Redonda are housed collections of farming implements, tools belonging to the Bodegas of the 19th century, photographs and a small space dedicated to the liqueur distilleries which were of great social and economic importance in this region towards the end of the 19th century. On the top floor of the museum is found a large exhibition of bottles of wine from all the Bodegas of the region along with more from other wine growing areas of Spain and the world. This “sample” offered by the Bodega Redonda has been made possible by the selfless, private donation of objects which enrich this ever growing exhibition. The aim of the museum is to teach: explanatory panels illustrate the whole process from working the soil and cultivation of the vines to the making, aging and bottling of the wines. This oenological museum is open Monday to Friday from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm or, with a prior reservation available in the Tourist Office of the Town Hall of Utiel, at other times by groups. The rectangular building – built as an annex in 1932 to increase the capacity of the Bodega Redonda – is now the Head Office of the Regulatory Counsel and, as a reminder that the building was once a Bodega, the Counsel has placed its offices in the old wine vats to respect the original structure.