The Valencia appellation, established in 1932, gathers the vineyards of the province outside the Utiel-Requena plateau, in four subzones: Alto Turia in the cool northwestern hills, Valentino in the middle of the province, Moscatel de Valencia along the rivers behind the city, and Clariano in the south, which is the most interesting of them. Wine from Sagunto, on this coast, was good enough to be named by Juvenal and Martial.

The port is the reason the region looks the way it does. Valencia has exported wine for centuries, in bulk and under other people's labels, which is why its own name is better known abroad than at home. The speciality is Moscatel de Valencia, a sweet, grapey, fortified wine from Muscat of Alexandria. Merseguera is the traditional dry white, Monastrell and Garnacha Tintorera the traditional reds, and the Clariano hills, higher and cooler, now make the serious bottles.