Who is Fazenda Agricola Augalevada?

Is a small farm owned and operated by Iago, located in San Clodio village in Ourense, Galicia. The farm belongs to D.O. Ribeiro.

The farm

2ha of vineyards (total will be 4ha, when he finishes his project), a small cellar, a stream passes middle of the field and some lovely animals that make a harmony in the farm.

Iago felt in love this place and started his biodynamic farm project in 2009.

Typical Galician vineyards; Granitic and Jable (loam sandy) soil. Stony terraces are covered with green grasses. Two caws munches the grasses from autumn to spring.

Treixadura, Lado, Loureira and Agudelo are the main grape types in Iago's vineyards. Then some reds, such as Caiño Longo, Caiño da Terra, are also planted.

Climate of the area is Atlantic with inland climate influence. Iago says in spring and autumn he finds more influence of Atlantic climate, then summer and winter is more continental.

The little stream produces cool and fresh air in the vineyards during summer (*Ourense is one of the hottest spot in Spain during summer) . Also the vineyards are surrounded by Atlantic woods. Woods of oak trees and walnut trees gives cool air in the vineyards, too.

Altitude is 250-300m above sea level and about 100m of gap between higher part of the vineyards to the lowest. This difference of temperate and orientation give complexity to the wine.

Biodynamic

Iago follows biodynamic principals. His wine Ollos de Roque is certified by Demeter.

It is very difficult to follow biodynamic principals in Galicia, due to the combination of high humidity and high temperature. But also there are many winemakers who is pursuit of natural winemaking and following biodynamic principals to express potential of grapes, climate and nature of the area.

He looks after his vineyards by himself with some help of two lovely Galician caws, sheep (also Galician breed) and a cat.

Winemaking of Wizard

His pursuit of expressing purity and minerality of wine makes magic. His wine stay in amphora over 7 months. Each amphora give different effect to the wine. So when Iago blends them all, taste completely different from when you taste it individually. With his wand, he turns Treixadura into a premium white wine “Ollos de Roque”.

Just grape and nature of Ribeiro in bottle.

Who is Baixas Lehnberg family?

The Baixas Lehnberg family started its organic farming project over 40 years ago.

The family’s main aim is to create a sustainable, independent farming model, which fully respects nature.

Why Mosto Flor (grape juice), not wine?

Mosto flor (free-run juice in Spanish) i made with Vitis Vinifera. White is a blend of Macabeo and Xarel.lo, Red is a blend of Syrah and Alcant Bouchet (Garnacha Peluda).

They harvest the grapes in the very best condition. Select manually the bunches then press very softly. But they bottle the juice without fermentation. I could imagine that they could make beautiful wine easily.

Jesus Baixas (founder of Baixas Lehnberg) told me the reason;

There is many many wine and too many problems caused by alcohol in this world. So I wanted to produce Mosto Flor (grape juice) that does not harm anyone or anything. From small children to old people everyone can share and enjoy my juice. Because we produce the juice nature and now following biodynamic principals, we do not harm nature either.

It was not easy to make his dream come true, but his unique project finding collaborators and now the second and third generation of the family are looking after the project.

Biodynamic farming

The family observes and protects the biodiversity of all the plants and animals (including humans!) on their farm, in order to maintain the harmony and balance of the beautiful natural environment.
Today the new generation of the Baixas Lehnberg family has introduced a BIODYNAMIC philosophy to the farm, following the path of their parents.

The Farm

The 50ha farm boasts a diversity of climate and nature.

The soil consists of limestone, sand and clay.

In the middle of the farm lays a valley, which the family leaves wild at its most narrow point. The vines are planted in wider areas. Each plot is surrounded by woodlands (a total of 30ha of woods) making the farm both balanced and unique. Several species of animals, insects and plants share the farm in harmony.

The family has not ploughed the vineyards for over 10 years, or the olive farm for more than 30 years. As a result, the soil is rich in biodiversity.

Mosto Flor - 100% Pure grape juice

Due to having less contact with oxygen and passing fewer production processes, the health benefits of grapes are better conserved in juice than wine.

- chemical products in vineyards, process of concentration, sugar or E-number in juice.

+ benefit of grapes, such as antioxidant, natural energy, effect of polyphenol etc...