An agricultural space between regression and restructuring: the vineyards of Montilla-Moriles (Cordoba, Spain)

Abstract

This contribution focuses, from a geographical perspective, on the wine-growing area of Montilla-Moriles (Córdoba, Spain), covered by the PDO of the same name. This area is characterised by a privileged physical and natural environment for vineyard cultivation, which explains the development of wine production processes with deep historical roots and a component of tradition and quality. However, this contrasts with the profound crisis registered from the end of the 20^th century to the present day, in which the failure to adapt production to the new market context seems to have played a key role. The study is approached from an integrated perspective, analysing the framework from different dimensions (territorial, agrarian, productive and commercial), for which fieldwork and bibliographic, statistical, cartographic, documentary and press sources have been used, as well as interviews to local agents and producers. With all of this, it has been possible to verify and characterise the process of regression, and new possibilities have been proposed, where the commitment to innovation, differentiation and greater productive flexibility seem to be unavoidable.