Aragon Guide

Somontano de Barbastro is a county in the Province of Huesca, in Aragon, north-eastern Spain. In recent years the area has come to enjoy world renown as one of Spain's finest viticultural regions, earning it Denominación de Origen certification. The name Somontano actually means "Under the Mountain". The region is gorgeous with green fields and hills, wildflowers, medieval hamlets, and lonely hilltop monasteries. The principal wine town is Barbastro, with most of the wineries close by. 

Somontano won its DO status in 1984 after a long struggle by local growers, and ever since it has produced impressive results. The vineyards, located in the foothills of the Aragonese Pyrenees, have an ideal altitude and climate as well as an interesting range of grape varieties and wineries intent on making unique, high-quality wines.

Since the DO's early days, numerous new brands of wines and new wineries have emerged , all of which have helped to promote the DO's consolidation. There are about 3,000 ha under vine registered by the locale regulatory council, and the region is dominated by less than 5 top wineries (namely Enate, Bodegas Pirineos and Viñas del Vero). The Somontano region offers the gourmet tourist a complete package: cozy restaurants tucked away in romantic, historic villages offering the excellent local cuisine (high on game, artisan cheeses, rich vegetable dishes and homemade sausage chorizos); stunning modern wineries who open their doors to happy, wine loving visitors; and wonderful landscapes and scenery.

Barbastro - Located in the Spanish province of Huesca in the Aragon Pyrenees. The city (originally, perhaps, Bergidum or Bergiduna) is at the junction of the rivers Cinca and Vero. In the time of the Romans it was a part of Hispania Citerior. It was taken by the Arabs, under the leadership of Muza (711), and ...

Alquezar - Near Barbastro we find one of the best monumental ensembles in Aragon, built around a rock where the Castle and the Collegiate Church stand. The Collegiate Church, consecrated in the 11th C., keeps only part of the original structure. The old Romanesque porch was used to build the current cloister, ...

Fraga - On the banks of the Cinca river, there is Fraga,of Iberian origin, where important Romanesque churches of the 12th century are preserved as is a series of residential buildings in the picturesque layout of the streets. In the vicinity of Fraga, there are the Roman remains of the so-called Villa ...

The Somontano Wine Region - The Somontano vineyards, located in the province of Huesca, in the foothills of the Aragonese Pyrenees, have an ideal altitude and climate as well as an interesting range of grape varieties and wineries intent on making unique, high-quality wines. The excellent results obtained are reflected in the ...