We have completed the 2024 harvest!
The beginning of autumn marks the grape harvest season in both Spain and Portugal. October has been a month full of activity with the collection of minority grape varieties! The first impressions are very positive: proper fruit ripening, good maturity parameters, sugar concentration, and acidity levels make us very optimistic about the future quality of the wines.
On the Spanish side, we have achieved seventeen wine productions from minority varieties distributed across appellations of origin as follows:
From D.O. Arribes, we harvested Tijonera, Puesta en Cruz, Bruñal, Mandón, Tinto Jeromo, Gajo Arroba (which in Portugal is called Cornifesto) and Bastardillo Chico. In D.O. Bierzo, Estaladiña and Merenzao were harvested. In D.O. Sierra de Salamanca, we harvested Rufete Serrano Blanco and Piñonera. From D.O. León, Negro Saurí (local name for the Merenzao variety) was collected, while in D.O. Cebreros, the white variety Legiruela was harvested. In D.O. Rueda, Cenicienta was collected, and finally, at the Zamadueñas experimental farm, a new variety included in the study called Aurígera and the Puesto Mayor variety were collected.
In the Tras-Os-Montes region of Portugal, the varieties Bastardo Tinto, Tinto Cão, Conifesto, Tinta Gorda/Nova, Tinta Gorda/Velha, Boal, Samarrinho, Bical, Bastardo Branco/Nova, and Bastardo Branco/Velha were harvested.
From now on, we will focus on the fermentation of the different varieties in the winery so that these grape varieties, which we are studying and caring for with such dedication, can become unique wines capable of transporting us to the depths of the cultural richness of the border between Castilla y León and northern Portugal.
Everything about MINORSENS at a single click
The MINORSENS project website is now available. Visit www.minorsens.eu to learn all about this cross-border initiative co-financed by the Interreg VI-A Spain-Portugal Program (POCTEP) 2021-2027.
