The first documented evidence of vinegrowing in this area dates back to the 12th century, immediately following the Christian conquest of the lands occupied until then by the Moors. Still, it is not unreasonable to imagine that the prior inhabitants had already begun winemaking activity, which was introduced by the Greeks and spread throughout the fields of the ancient Tarraco by the Romans.

Priorat county was one of the last from which the Moors were expelled in Catalonia. The final Saracen stronghold, the Siurana Castle, was reconquered in 1153 and Albert de Castelvell was named lord of an area that included modern-day Priorat and part of Tarragona. Thus began the repopulation of all southern Catalonia.

The establishment of Scala Dei Carthusian Monastery was crucial for Priorat wine.

It was founded in 1163 by King Alfonso the Chaste. According to legend, the Carthusian monks of the Sant Bru Order who came from Grenoble (France) seeking a site for a new monastery came upon a shepherd who showed them the plot at the foot of the Montsant mountain chain, where he had had visions of angels ascending to heaven. The Scala Dei coat of arms shows the steps symbolizing the ascent of the angels that the shepherd spoke of. On that spot, the Carthusians began construction of the first Carthusian monastery on the Iberian peninsula, the Santa Maria de Scala Dei Carthusian Monastery.