The grapes are hand harvested and treated like the Rosado, having only spent several hours on the skins versus days or weeks. During natural fermentation, when the must still has sugar that is fermenting, the juice is placed into bottle under crown cap, so that the fermentation may continue yet the CO2 has nowhere to go except for into the wine. Once complete, the bottles rest until the wine is ordered, and the dead yeast cells are disgorged to order, leaving a clean and finished and very fresh ‘pet-nat’.
Farming: Biodynamic
Vegan
Uva de Vida is a small, biodynamic farm in the Santa Olalla area of Toledo. Maria Carmen López Delgado started her project in 2005 after she found herself beating a serious illness through realizing that intimate work with the earth and all of its energy, could rejuvenate her own ailments. “If we take care of the earth, we take care of ourselves. Life has given me a new opportunity.” Together, with her husband Luis Ruiz, they work in the dry and extreme continental climate of Castilla with 9.5 hectares of Graciano (a fairly rare red grape in Spain, let alone Castilla), and 3 hectares of Tempranillo. Without even the use of copper or sulfur in the vineyard, they have a sincere passion and dedication to keeping their land perfect, in order to produce incredible grapes, situated between cereal fields and Cornicabra Olive groves. Music accompanies the vines and the cellar, in order to move subtle energy around using the gentle vibrations of sound waves. The Mandala image on the label of each bottle is their own complex geometric diagram of their vineyard (at 40˚ latitude), which outlines these energetic vibrations that are so crucial to their biodynamic farming practices.
Further label info: The 8 pointed star references the Arabic & Jewish past of Toledo, which represents the connection between heaven & earth, the stable balance between spirit (cosmic) & matter (telluric). Also, it pays homage to the ancient Mediterranean civilizations that worshiped the sun, which they represented with 8 rays as a hallmark of spiritual realization, representing the sum of all aspiration, a symbol of life that inspires us.
100% Tempranillo
Country: Spain
Region: Castilla la Mancha
Tasting: texture, dark floral tones, bright lively fruit, earthy balance.
Pairing: Mushroom risotto