There is evidence to show that wine has been present in Valencia since the time of the Phoenicians (1,200 BC - 146 BC) including artifacts and utensils such as drinking glasses, wine bottles, jugs, and cups. Many drawing of these still exit. In the D.O. Utiel-Requena there are many underground cellars dating from before the Christian occupation which were used for domestic warehousing including the storage of wine.
Currently, there is no doubt that the wines produced by our “appellations of origin” - Utiel-Requena, Valencia and Alicante are gaining more recognition among consumers, both national and international. La Bodega Redonda, located in Utiel (Valencia), is a landmark building from 1891 and has been the headquarters of the D.O. Regulatory Council Utiel-Requena since 1991.
WINE MUSEUM
The winery was built in 1891 and was still in use until 1957. During this time, it had several owners. Initially, it was built by a wealthy family from the Cosechera area who soon recruited Swiss and French traders. In the 1920’s it was re-leased, this time by the Agricultural Cooperative of Utiel which eventually bought it. A model displaying it’s unique and modern design can be seen at the Requena Research Station. It consists of two buildings one of which is a circular cellar referred to as the “Bodega Redonda” by the local inhabitants of the Utiel Requena.
One hundred years later, it became the “Museum of Vine and Wine” resulting in the conservation of this property.
The Bodega Redonda was extended in the 1930’s to include a rectangular fruit storage building for the Agricultural Cooperative of Utiel. This latter building contains the offices of the Regulatory Council of Utiel Requena (since 1986) , the body responsible for the quality control of the wines, the protection and promotion of the varieties grown in this area and, finally, information and promotional work. The winery is one of the most unusual in Spain due to it’s its circular shape, as there are only 3 more like this (in Carignan, Jerez and Tomelloso).
This unique building which has no central pillar for support, was designed by the Valencian architect - a disciple of Gustave Eiffel - Demetrio Ribes. It was built with quality materials: stone, brick, solid wood and iron. Among it’s highlights are, it’s colorful conical roof and the construction of it’s inner covering, not only by the beams of hardwood but also the structure of iron beams, arches and buttresses that support it, which is very typical of the construction methods of nineteenth-century modernism. They also draw attention to the typical Valencian tile pieces that are still preserved in some of the areas where wine was stored.
The museum has several sections. The centre houses the permanent exhibition "History of BD Utiel-Requena in images " covering the period from the first Iberian sites up to the visit of the Spanish Royal family on March 16, 2006. There are two corridors around this central area, one contains the tools used in the cultivation of vineyards and the other, instruments used in the development and analysis of grapes. All these items have been generously donated by citizens to the Denomination of Origin DO Utiel - Requena.
Above this area there is an exhibition of wines from wineries bottling DO Utiel - Requena. This area is also often used for conferences and presentations.
Since January 2007, the Regulatory Board Utiel-Requena opens the Centennial Museum every day of the year. La Bodega Redonda offers free admission to people interested in the wine culture of this region. Visitors can can enjoy a guided tour and a tasting of one of the wines selected by the Regulatory Board Utiel - Requena. All aspects of wine cultivation are explained, from the preparation of land for the cultivation of grapes, harvesting the grapes, transport of the grapes to the winery and wine making itself. There is also “The workshop of the Senses” where the visitor may test his his “nose” trying to identify the 22 ingredients that can be found in the wine. The visit ends with a tasting of a wine selected by the Control Board Utiel-Requena.
