The Denominació d’Origen Qualificada Priorat is a small mountainous region located in the heart of the province of Tarragona. The massif of the Montsant mountain forms the northern boundary, to the west is the Sierra de la Figuera, to the east Molló and, to the south, the territory opens out and follows the course of the Siurana river downstream towards the Ebro. The Siurana river and its tributaries are the main geographic artery of the area, and have created a series of valleys due also to the geological curves of the ridges and hillsides. In accordance with the laws of Catalonia relative to the regional administrative division, the whole territory of the DOQ Priorat is part of a larger administrative area known as ‘Priorat’, which also includes a territory that does not form part of the Priorat wine.
The Denominació d’Origen Priorat has an area of 17.629 hectares, of which 2.196,8 are planted with vines and cultivated by 511 growers. Nine of the 23 municipalities of the Priorat region administratively form a part of the Priorat region. These municipalities are the following: la Morera de Montsant (which includes Scala Dei), Gratallops, Porrera, Poboleda, Torroja del Priorat, la Vilella Alta, la Vilella Baixa, El Lloar and Bellmunt del Priorat. Also, within the limits of the DOQ Priorat, the northern part of the municipality of the town of Falset (Masos de Falset) and the eastern part of the municipality of Molar (Les Solanes del Molar) ar included. The first 6 are the municipalities that made up the Priorat of the Carthusiam Monastery of ScalaDei. The others were included in the delimitation of the appellation of origin which was made in 1932 and which forms the current territory of the DOQ Priorat. As a result of the expansion of the cultivation of the vines and the quality of its wines, promoted, driven and dominated by the Carthusians, the area gained world renown.