Esmeralda Garcia

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Wine from the heart and the earth

Esmeralda García was born in Segovia, but her family comes from Santiuste de San Juan Bautista, a small village with 500 inhabitants that is part of the DO Rueda which, like other nearby towns, is characterized by its sandy soils that have allowed the survival of pre-phylloxera verdejos which are probably some of the oldest vines in Spain, many of them are up to 250 years old.  Esmeralda is surely one of the most talented women winemakers in Europe, She loves to vinify all her different plots separately trying to express the best of each one of them , even if sometimes the total production of each cuveé does not reach the 500 bottles. Esmeralda owns a total surface of 4ha of vineyards.

Fazenda Pradio

As Furnias

As Furnias

Rebel and Visioneer Young Winemaker

Led by Xavi Seoane who is the mastermind of one of the most exciting wines projects in Spain,  The grapes grow on a windy, terraced cliff overlooking the Miño just south of where it becomes the Sil river in the Ribeira Sacra.  Xavi decided to bet  on local ancient varieties which are now almost extinct such as Merenzao, Brancellao, Caiño Longo not just the known and well spread Mencia. Most of his wines ferment in Granite Lagar, and then aged in Old Oak barrels for a few months. He is able to make some of the most fresh and elegants red wines made in Spain, very far from the Modern Spanish stereotype which is heavy , oaky over extracted wines. 

 
 
 

Constantina Sotelo

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The Queen of Albariño

Constantina makes some of the most  unique Albariño wines in her family winery that is located in the Salnés Valley, specifically in Castrelo (Cambados), a place which is considered  the birthplace of Albariño. The majority of Constantina’s vines are “pie franco” and have considerable age, a handful more than two centuries old, they are trained in the traditional pergola method typical of Rias Baixas. All of the Vineyards at a maximum distance of 500 meters from the Atlantic Ocean. she plays and experiments constantly with the vessels and methods in which she vinifies whether it is direct press by foot, a long skin maceration or ageing under veil of flor and whether it’s aged traditionally in chestnut barrels, amphora, cement egg or stainless steel, through all these combinations She is able  to express in each glass the purest expression of this Atlantic area. 

Celler Frisach

From Corbera d’Ebre an unspoiled natural environment in the Terra Alta

Francesc and Joan inherited the 200 years old family farming traditions, Celler Frisach new era began in 2009. The winery is in Corbera d’Ebre an unspoiled natural environment in the Terra Alta region southern Catalonia in Spain, an area full of Vineyards, Olive trees, and other crops that draw a sober landscape of hills and evocative plains. Terra Alta is considered the home of the “Vernatxa” *Grenache*, and it has become the main focus at this winery, one of the few wineries crafting the three varieties Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, and Grenache Noir. 

 
 
 

Cume-Do-Avia

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Where Atlantic meets Mediterranean

A real  family business from the region of Eira dos Mouros, Galicia Which Is led by the brothers Diego and Alvaro Collarte and their cousins Fito y Anxo. Everything takes place in Ribadavia, ( Ribeiro) Where The proximity of their land to the Atlantic , the south and west-facing orientation maximize the sun’s heat in an otherwise cold region. The richness of the diverse soils, and the constant whistle of fierce winds that bring in the fresh air and help grapes to stay dry and pest free. It’s an ideal place within this green landscape for their organic and biodynamic practices. Souson, Brancellao, Merenzao, Treixadura, Lado, Caiño Blanco, among many others are the varieties used to craft the beautiful wines

Augalevada

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the first certified biodynamic producer

Augalevada is the first certified biodynamic producer in the history of Ribeiro. lago Garrido is the man behind this special winery where sheep and cattle graze thick grass between his vines on a terraced slope. The healthy virgin soils produce exceptionally bright and refreshing Treixadura grape, which grows with other native Galician white varietals. Iago is one of the producers who best uses the clay amphora buried underground, the low temperature allows a quiet long fermentation process which gives as a result a very elegant nose and an amazing freshness to his wines. The winery was built in order to work with the help of the gravity forces avoiding the uses of pumps and other mechanical machines.  Ollos de Roque is the name of his most important cuveé which is made 100% With Treiadura. 

 
 
 

Microbodega del Alumbro

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authentic natural wines with soul

Maribel Juanjo and their son Abel are dedicated to making natural wine in “Tierra del Vino” of Zamora, specifically in Villamor de los Escuderos one of the oldest wine regions in the Iberian Peninsula southwest of the Duero River one hour from the Portuguese border. They have only 4.5 hectares of vineyards which many of them are older than 100 years old, rescued from their disappearance  due to the low yields in an almost abandoned wine area. Wines with a very strong personality made with the traditional grapes from Central Spain as Verdeja, Albillo, Palomino, Godello, Moscatel, Tempranillo and Verdejo Negro.

Julia Bernet

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Master of Champenoise Method in Catalunya

In the small Catalan town of Subirats a few kilometers south of Barcelona in the Alt Penedes Wine region lives a wine grower by the name of Xavier Bernet. At his winery named after his daughter Julia, Xavi produces some of the most awarded Sparkling Wines in Spain All his wines are made through the Champenoise Method, all the cuveés are made with their own organically grown grapes  following a minimum of 24 months on the lees being Xare-llo grape the main protagonist. Xavi is one of the producers who created the COORPINAT group which strives for the highest quality standards of Sparkling wine production in the region, leaving behind the confusion and low standards created under the “Cava” disciplinary.

 
 
 

Bodegas Forlong

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New Blood from the South

Rocío Áspera and Alejandro Narváez clearly represent the new blood from the “Sherry” area production in the province of Cadiz, which sadly is one of the most industrialized and standardized wine regions.  Palomino grape plus Albariza soils is the formula which gives as a result some of the most exciting wines in this area. None of the wines are fortified, The result is the purest expression of what this area can offer.  In some of the wines the flor transforms their superb must into vintage sherries made in the same fashion as the great Jerez of the 19th century, without solera. Forlong relies on the natural concentration of alcohol, acidity, and crucial minerals in their fruit to support healthy aging under flor.

El Mozo Wines

Itxaso Compañon y Gorka Mauleón

Itxaso Compañon y Gorka Mauleón

tHE PUREST EXPRESSION OF RIOJA

El Mozo Wines is a small family project with more than 40 years of history located in Lanciego (Rioja Alavesa).  The goal is clear for them, The wine has to be as the Grandfather used to drink it in the old days, the real old school ! which is far from the modern vision of Rioja which shows over-extracted oaky wines. With a total of  9 hectares of vineyards spread over 18 small plots all in Lanciego the project is based in traditional, sustainable, and organic viticulture and the winemaking as naturally as possible.

They decided to work with the maximum respect for each and every one of the vineyards that their parents and  grandparents left them, all are little gems that in many cases were planted longer than 70 years ago. The special orography of Lanciego, crossed by three streams with their respective ravine and replanos give an amazingly fresh and mineral result! 

 
 
 

4 Ojos

Dry Moscatel & the magic of the Albariza soils

4Ojos is a new winery run by 3 women Lucía Fuentes, Desirée Rodríguez and Olga Sánchez. They decided to establish their project in the town of Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz right in the heart of the sherry area production. Unfortunately, this wine area is one of the most industrialized and standardized wine regions in Europe, therefore they knew since the very beginning that to succeed they needed a completely different approach than the rest of wineries.

They came with the idea of making completely dry Moscatel wines which no one makes in the area, Dry Moscatel plus the magic of the Albariza soils was the formula! In the following vintages, they began to “play” with different Sherry barrels such as the ones used to make Amontillado and Oloroso. Nowadays the yearly production doesn´t go over 8,000 bottles, All Moscatel comes from the “pago la Bilbaina” while the Red varieties grow in Finca Parrilla Alta, San José del Valle which is the highest albariza plot in the area.

Bellmunt&Oliver Viticultors

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The “master” when it comes to sparkling wine production in Spain

The families of Víctor Bellmunt and Estiva Oliver have been engaged in agriculture for several generations in the Plana Alta region, in Castelló (Valencia). Their winery is located right in the center of the little town of Cabanes, 10ha of vineyards together with Olive Trees, almond trees all handled in the most sustainable way possible.

Victor is considered one of the “masters” when it comes to sparkling wine production in Spain. He has recently launched a line called “Marenostrum” that consists of 3 different sparkling wines made under the “ Ancestral Method” without any SO2 added.

 
 
 

Orlando Lumbreras

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Following the call of nature

Orlando Lumbreras was a famous broadcaster of Radio 3 in Spain, well known for the work in his music program "Mundane Pleasures". One day he decided to listen to his inner voice, his soul, and decided to leave everything behind to become a winegrower, to elaborate what he calls "free wines". Orlando is a person who lives agriculture as something almost mystical where he likes to listen to nature and feel part of it as one, working the vineyards under the foundations of organic agriculture, bearing in mind the biodynamic principles.

It began in 2012 when as result of his friendship with Alfredo Maestro, he produced 624 bottles of a single plot in Navarrendodilla called Punto G 2012. That same year he worked in the grape harvest with Jiménez Landi and later together with his friend Rubén Díaz de Cebreros they elaborated together several wines under the seal of Rubor Viticultores. Currently finished the stage of Rubor Viticultores, he works with his wife Mila, 6 hectares of Garnacha in Navalmoral de la Sierra in the mountains of Gredos, Navarredondillay Cebreros (Alto Alberche Valley) and 2 hectares of Real Albillo in Cebreros, in addition to one ½ hectare of Chasselas Doré. Since 2016, it has recovered some old jars (clay amphoras from the 19th and 20th centuries) for reds and whites. In 2016, it produced some 10,000 bottles in total.

Daniel Ramos

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Terroir Driven Maniac

Daniel Ramos is a half Australian half Spanish Winemaker who has been producing wines since 2010, and currently owns about 15 hectares of vines in several parcels mainly in the Province of Avila ( Sierra de Gredos) His vineyards are cultivated with maximum respect of the environment surrounding it many of them planted at almost 1000 meters above sea level with an average age of almost 100 years. With a respect for authentic winemaking, Daniel  Ramos aims, through the Zerberos Finca label, to represent the specific terroirs and altitudes/expositions of each of his vineyards. In the cellar he uses native yeast and slow macerations with no filtering or fining and with minimal or none addition of sulfur at bottling,