Bodegas Remírez de Ganuza

Remírez de Ganuza will donate the income obtained from the sale of his Special Reserve "Maria" to the Down Syndrome Foundation of Madrid

The winery Remírez de Ganuza has recently closed an agreement with the Down Syndrome Foundation of Madrid (www.downmadrid.es) for which it will donate to this entity the net billing of the 2005 harvest of one of its most special wines, “María Remírez de Ganuza”.

Revista Lideres de México includes Remírez de Ganuza within its Top 10

These ten wines have not only been well qualified in tastings but they have also resulted in excellent quality during this year.

Trasnocho 2005 triumphs at Vinexpo 2009

Although this year's VINEXPO fair has had an irregular result, our Trasnocho has nevertheless reaped a new success. The prestigious French journalist Michel Bettane accompanied by Thierry Desseauve.

Michell Obama and the King and the Queen of Spain drink Remírez de Ganuza Reserva 2003 during their lunch at Marivent.

Michelle Obama, and her daughter Sasha, flew to Palma de Mallorca on Sunday 8th August to conclude their holidays in Spain.

The Wine Advocate rewards the innovative effort of Remírez de Ganuza

The prestigious American magazine, The Wine Advocate, published by Robert Parker, has awarded the Ramírez de Ganuza Gran Reserva, vintage 2004, a score of 100 points, the highest possible rating given by the publication.

Established in 1989, Bodegas Remírez de Ganuza, sprang from a personal bet made by its founder, Fernando Remírez de Ganuza.

From the outset the idea has been the same: to ensure a rigorous grape sorting process and then minimal interference in the preparation of the wine.  In this way we can  be as true as possible both to the vintage and the vineyard. 

The business originally developed by Fernando in the 1970s and 1980s in Rioja Alavesa, involved the buying and selling of former vineyards.   This meant he had the knowledge to select the most suitable plots in the region to carry out his new project. 

Over the years, new techniques have been introduced for crafting and ageing wines making Remírez de Ganuza both innovative and pioneering producers.  Innovation has been a particular feature with new improvements being incorporated regularly to raise the quality of the wines produced.  These improvements include sorting tables, cold rooms and the use of new barrels for the ageing of the wines.  The innovations may well have been widely adopted by other internationally renowned producers but this was certainly not the case when Remírez de Ganuza first used them.  Other procedures like the bag used for the extraction of the Trasnocho wine or the machine used to wash the grapes in their own must are examples of the continuous process of innovation and the search for excellence which are hallmarks of Remírez de Ganuza. 

In 2010 Jose Ramon Urtasun joined the enterprise started by Fernando thus setting in motion a new phase for Bodegas Remirez de Ganuza

The winery is in the centre of Samaniego, Álava.  Surrounded by a hamlet of rambling old buildings, the winery comprises modern concrete buildings covered with original old brickwork in keeping with the traditional architecture of the local area. 

Grouped around a large central courtyard divided by a natural waterway, the buildings making up the winery have their own separate purpose in the various stages of the crafting of the wine: an area for the barrels, cellars, cold rooms and a selection area. 

The traditional architecture of the winery complete with an interior made of hundred-year-old oak beams contrasts with pioneering and innovative modern methods.

The vineyards are made up of more than 80  hectares of Tempranillo, Viura and Malvasía grape.  They are spread out over 6 plots in the Cantabrian mountain range: Samaniego, Leza, Elciego, San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Laguardia and Abalos.  In selecting these plots, careful consideration was given to the habitat, microclimate and orientation, as well as the low yield of the vines with an average age of 50 years.  This large area comprising the estate allows us to be self-sufficient using only premium quality grape.

Actions on vineyards

The thinning of the vine consists of taking off those bunches and leaves which form very compact groups leaving only very loosely formed bunches.  This results in greater exposure to the air as well as a more balanced yield on each vine. 

Harvesting

During the wine harvest a preliminary selection of grapes is undertaken.  Only bunches with the best quality grapes are used for wine production.  We discard any grapes which do not meet the high standards required.  Our objective is always to choose only mature and healthy grapes from vines whose leaves are in perfect condition.

The grapes are hand-picked and transported in 12 kg boxes to ensure their safe arrival at the winery.  Once there, the grapes harvested are stored in cold rooms with a temperature of between 4 and 6 degrees centigrade.

Grape sorting

The selected grapes are placed on a sorting table comprising different sections.  First, the loose grapes and the must from the best bunches are separated from the rest.  The health of the grapes is maintained by discarding any less than ideal bunches.  Subsequently any bunches selected are divided into two parts: tips and shoulders.  The shoulders are used for making Reserva wines, and the tips – the lower part – are used for making young wines via carbonic maceration.  Experience has shown that the maturity of the grape varies between the upper and lower part of the bunch.  For this reason each part is used for a different wine.  Finally the destemmed grapes are washed in their own juice before reaching the tank.

Fermentation

The winemaking process is carried out in small conical stainless steel tanks specially designed for us, and in French oak vats which we replace every two years.  This is where the alcoholic fermentation of the wine takes place. 

Subsequently, the wine is placed in brand new oak barrels for malolactic fermentation.  So as not to contaminate barrels of wine which are ageing, we use the top floor of the winery for malolactic fermentation.  This area is also used for grape selection. 

We use only brand new barrels for fermentation of all of our wines: they can be used with maximum hygiene and cleanliness in mind, ensuring that the two years spent in the winery leaves them in perfect condition.

Each month we check on the state of the wine in the barrels to see whether they need racking.  We replace any decrease in volume with the same wine.