ith respect to precipitation, its most notable characteristics are its rarity and irregularity. The annual average is 430 litres / m2. The rains are divided into maximum and minimum periods. Spring and autumn are the rainiest seasons which register an average of 47.6 litres / m2 with the wettest month being October at 76.2 litres / m2, a time which coincides with the grape harvest. In summer rainfall is scarce and often accompanied by hail storms caused by the rapid rise of hot air masses. To sum up, the area’s climate is characterized by its dryness, its two rainy seasons, its short summer and long winter, its large swings in temperature between the hot and cold seasons and between day and night and the risks of frost in spring and hail in summer.

he average annual temperature, according to the Oenological Research Station of Requena, is 14°C with an annual thermal variation of 17° C. This large swing in temperature is evidence in itself of the continental characteristics of Utiel-Requena’s climate. The hottest month is July at 23.2°C with an average of 6°C in December. Winters are cold and very long. Ice is frequent at this time and very often comes as early as late October. The most extreme cold has on occasion reached -15°C, caused by a polar wind. Spring is often late and accompanied by temperature fluctuations with frequent frosts in April and June. The summer is relatively short: usually not lasting past July and August and it is very hot in the early afternoon. Maximum temperatures are higher on the Valencian coast, but the low humidity makes it a much drier heat. When the prevailing wind is from the West temperature can rise to 39° or 40°C. At night there is usually a sharp decrease in temperature, another of the aforementioned continental characteristics, owing to the effects of the so-called Solano wind or the Levante (easterly) wind which begins to blow from mid-evening until night fall. Autumn is short. Temperatures suffer a sharp drop and the early morning frost and ice begin to appear.

n a circular tableland of some 45 kilometres in diameter is the only interior plain in Valencia in contrast to the mountainous nature of its neighbours. It is an appendage to the large geomorphologic structure of the southern Castilian sub-plateaux left by the deep furrow cut by the river Cabriel. This small, sloping tableland is at a height that measures between 600 and 900 metres above sea level (altitudes range from the 907 metres of Camporrobles to the 697 metres of Siete Aguas. In contrast, the maximum heights of the Negrete mountain range are 1,310 metres for the Pico del Remedio, 1,250 for the Sierra del Tejo and 1,180 metres for the Bicuerca). The waters of this zone are divided between the two hydrographical basins of the river Magro to the North and the course of the Caballero – tributary of the river Cabriel – to the South. The dividing line between the basins is marked by the low ridge of the Torrubia or Ceja. The existence of peaks – such as the “Telégrafo” - indicate that they have been raised by internal geological pressure which has given rise to endless watercourses that descend to the flat lands below, opening up over the vineyard-covered terraces. From the high basins of the municipalities of Camporrobles and Sinarcas descend a series of gullies that converge in Utiel giving rise to the river Magro. Between Caudete, Utiel and Requena the river has over time built alluvial terraces forming La Vega (The Water Meadows). To the South of Torrubia – with sandstones and conglomerates – there exists a wide band of clays and loam which follow the course of the streams or fill small basins. In this area are found fertile flatlands and shallow valleys such as in Albosa or Hortunas. Another aspect of the landscape is the series of limestone-crowned mounds which stretch from the mound of Los Antones to the mound of Juan Vich.