It was only during the last years of the 1990’s when a small group of producers started to make still wines from these sun-bathed vineyards.
This sparked a radical shift in the local wine industry, slowly reducing the fortified and sweet wine production, opening room for the still wine new era, and it is here where the wines of Ronda have played an important role.
Since the raisin-suited Pedro Ximenez and Moscatel varietals dominated the landscape, and the majority of the native grapes were wiped out by the phylloxera, the growers had to resort to foreign breeds, such as Petit Verdot, which adapted itself to the region’s climate especially well.
When 2001 came around, the new still wine trend was a reality. So things had to be reorganized. The D.O. (the national administrative distinction of winemaking territories) was divided in two: Vinos de Málaga (for wines above 15º to 22º in alcohol), and Vinos de Sierras de Málaga (for still wines below 15º in alcohol).
In the light of said relabeling, the land under vine around the central highlands of Málaga, Ronda, and the municipality of Axarquía, became the preferred location for the Sierras de Málaga wines.