The first wine produced from 100 year old vines has been released onto the market

Vallbona de les Monges (CNA).- The Slow Food Association of Lleida has released two variations of wine onto the market, a white and a red wine. The wine was produced by blending different varieties of grapes from ancient vineyards in the county of Noguera, Catalonia, where they have found 100 year old varieties of grapes that existed before the phylloxera plague. The results have been found by the organisation “Cultures Trobades” (“Found Cultures”), whose mission is to revive autochthonous varieties of grapes using ecological methods that benefit the environment. They have localized 25 wine crops in the Lleida area that are between 50 to 150 years old. “La Cooperativa L´Olivera de Vallbona de les Monges” has been working to convert these ancient grape varieties into commercialized wine.

The project, which started in 2008, aims to revive all of the agricultural grape varieties from the Lleida region. They have discovered 25 wine crops within the county of Noguera, a region that has been producing wine since before the phylloxera plague. The Slow Food Association of Lleida has purchased these old grape varieties from local farmers and has also taken part in the vintage process. The localization project has been made possible by a historical study and documentary, as well as a series of interviews from farmers in the Noguera region.

Gerard Batalla, a technician with Cultures Trobades, said “the farmers who have preserved the vineyards are lovers of the world of wine. They were producing the wine for self-consumption, unaware of the treasure that they were cultivating”. Batalla also mentioned that the important thing is the mix these ancient varieties with the newest technologies in order to generate a quality product.  

The wine has just been released onto the market under the brand “Vinyes Trobades” (“Found Wines”). They offer a variety of white and red wines including Grenache, Malvasia, Viura, Muscatel, Picpoule, Tourbat, and Monstrell. They have produced 1,000 limited edition bottles as a way of introducing the project to the public.

Pau Moragas of la Cooperative L´Olivera de Vallbona de les Monges pointed out that Project is helping to “value the genetic resources of the territory, using local biodiversity as a tool for development and territorial identity”.