Daterra Viticultores - Laura & Alvaro

Who is Daterra Viticultores?

The winer was founded in 2014 by Laura & Alvaro in Manzaneda, a small & abandoned village in Lugo. Manzaneda is well known for skiing.

Laura and Alvaro own and look after many small patches of old vineyards which are located in Ribeira Sacra area.

Why they are so special?

Laura is sensitive person.

She does care the old vineyards which are orphaned and suffering with chemical products (mainly hercicide), those abadaned villages in Galicia, discontinuity of local tradition and future.

When she describes an old vine, she calls it "my old lady".

When she describes her wines, she call them "my kids".

Because she loves, care and feels what they try to express.

How Daterra Viticultores was born?

Laura left her previous work in 2013 because she need to be in vineyards. She needed to be in nature, touching vines, looking after them rather than fighting agains pile of papers, legislation, controlling orders of materials... So she left.

She was about to leave Manzaneda village too, because she wanted to be close to her family, friends and she did not like stepping in a bar or restaurants that filled with just men....

She took sabbatical year and started walking in mountains where she used to work.

One day, she received a phone call from her friend - "Laura, could you do winter pruning of my aunty's vineyards? She is too old to go and we are too busy with our work. We will pay you out with grapes".

She had plenty of time and she said yes.

It didn't take long until people started asking these "favours" for Laura - She was pretty visible person; with her long rasta hair, she talks to vines, she was very good and quick. It was obvious that she know what she was doing.

In the end of summer, she got so many grapes from old vineyards that she needed start her new project.

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.""I don't much care where –""Then it doesn't matter which way you go." - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland.

Re-vitalising old vineyards suffering from herbicide

In Galicia, it is very rare to find a big plot of vineyards.

Everything is divided in small patches and there is no minimum dimension.

A family divides their small patch in three, if they have three children. Then they will divide it with number of their children.

That's why map of vineyards in Galicia, specially rural area, is very complex.

Plus "family issues" make everything more complicated...

But it is very clear the difference between "+Chemicals" "-Chemicals".

I could see invisible but clear line between them.

- Chemical soil is covers with grasses, plants, flower. Lovely green aroma. It's texture is soft like a sponge. Colourful, alive and gives me a good vibes.

+ Chemical soil is just grey. Just nothing but white granary products on the soil. No life, no smell, no colour.

It takes many years to recover the vineyards which are suffered with pesticide and herbicide.

First step is compost application. Laura put a tiny bit of compost on the topo soil to see the vineyards are strong enough to absolve it.

If they can, increase the quantity.

Some of them reacts immediately, some of them takes more time. She observes and control the dose.

Then some little plants grows making tiny green patches in the grey soil.

It is easy to blame on person who apply chemical products on soil. But it is important to understand why that happened.

Migration.

Galicia has been suffering poverty and depopulation after the dictator ship which finished in 1976.

Young people needed to go to big cities to start new life.

Only old people stayed in rural area and many vineyards are located in mountain.

It is very tough to look after vineyards if you are old and if you are making no money with it.

They do not want sell their family vineyards for nothing either - Vicios circle.

The easiest solution was chemical products.

Laura and Alvaro are following Permaculture viticulture based on tradition and old knowledge of Manzaneda, Galicia.

Life in Manzaneda village

It seems like this village was still living in past.

Stunning location, silent and little bit melancholic...

Cellar

Cellar is located in middle of the village.

It is small but very beautifully reformed.

She selects chestnuts barrels and French oak barrels.

Wines

DaTerra Viticultores produces single vineyard wines and some blends.

Their aim is to transmit potential and personality of each plots in bottle.

La Cimera del Xarel.lo

Why I recommend?

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