In 1924 the “Comarca del Priorat de Scala Dei”, an institution that gathered the municipalities of Bellmunt, Gratallops, la Morera, Poboleda, Torroja and la Vilella Alta, presented to the Spanish military government leaded by Miguel Primo de Rivera a request asking for an official recognition of the zone in order to prevent it from being depopulated. In 1928 the same villages addressed a new request to the Ministry of Employment, Commerce and Industry demanding the creation of the Regulatory Council of the Priorato de Scala Dei, as the proper body to be in charge of looking after this wine denomination[1], using the common trademark and managing of the production area.
The Wine Statute enacted in 1932 by the Ministry of Agriculture recognised the Priorat as a protected wine-making area.
The application and enforcement of this law could not be carried out due to the socio-political circumstances experienced in the country until the end of the civil war.
On 23rd July, 1954 the first regulations of the DO Priorat were passed and were published in the BOE on 11th August, 1954. In those years, the existence of the appellation of origin was to offer certain expectations in the area, which had been badly affected by by depopulation and the widespread crisis in the rural world. The regulation was later changed on 13th October 1959 and on 13th May, 1975.
Since its inception, the Regulatory Council seat had been at the Estació Enològica of Reus, but in 1999 the regulatory board moved to Torroja del Priorat, which has helped to facilitate the management and the involvement of the sector.
In 2000, due to the wide recognition the specific quality the wines was receiving and in compliance with the Royal Decree 157/88 of 22nd February and of Regulation (EEC) 1493/99 of 17th May, the regulatory board agreed to request that the Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Generalitat de Catalunya through the INCAVI grant the region DOQ status.
The Department of Agriculture, having carried out the appropriate checks, approved the Regulations of the Denominación de Origen Priorat on 18 December 2000, published in the DOGC (Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya). 3294 of 29 December 2000
On 18th April 2006 the new rules of the DOQ Priorat were approved, in accordance with the new Ley de la Viña y el Vino and the Wine and Catalan Law and were published in the DOGC Núm. 4618 from 21 April 2006.