Visiting the Faustino Winery

After our hike across the city of Logrono, we met the bus in front of the Hotel Murietta.  We were ready to visit the Faustino Winery or as they say in Spain The Faustino Bodega.

The bus ride was a short half hour trip in the Rioja Valley which is located south of the Cantabrian Mountains.  The vineyards benefit from a continental climate in which the mountains protect the vegetation from the fierce winds that are typical in northern Spain.  This area is also the home of the Oja River (Rio Oja = Rioja). This region is on a plateau about 1,500 feet above sea level.  There are three regions in this area:  Rioja Alevesa and Riosa Alta which are a bit higher near the mountains and have a cooler climate. These regions have a shorter growing period that produce wines that are lighter on the palate. The Rioja Alavesa produces wines with a fuller body and higher acidity. The vineyards in this area have a low vine density with a large spacing between rows because of the soil lacking in nutrients.  La Rioja Baja is to the southeast where it is drier and warmer.  This area around the Ebro River is in Rioja Baja. Average rainfall is bout 12 inches in this region. Global warming has had some effect on this area and since 1990s irrigation has been necessary. Summer temperatures are typically 95 degrees F. These wines are deeply colored and produce high alcoholic wines at 18% alcohol by volume. 

The region around the Ebro River was populated by Celts called Celtiberians around 300 A.D. who began planting grapes in the region.  During the middle ages the wineries were cared for by monks in monasteries that made wine for the use by the Church. The wine was usually a red wine. In modern Spain the wineries have been run by families through several generations.  One such family are the Muriettas whose name is prevalent all around Logrono including the name of our hotel!  The Faustino winery is another such bodega having been in operation for the last 150 years.  This winery gathers grapes from all three regions of Rioja to make their delicate, fruity wines.

We drove  around the foot hills until we came upon the winery.  Rioja is the most traditional of Spanish wine regions.  The Spanish classify their wines and their super top level is the Denominacion de Orgin Calificada (DOC). This is a super-category reserved for wines with a long tradition of high quality.  So far only Rioja has been awarded the DOC accolade. 

Faustino Bodega

We waited patiently while Ed and Father Cadarso conferred with the guides planning the visit with the time we had available.  So we took pictures and looked around for interesting subjects.

Fabio, Farther Cadarso, and Ed making plans.

Lorraine and Charmaine posing for pictures!

Fran and Kim posing with security guard.

We divided into two groups again, and our group got Fabio who said he was going to try to speak really good English.  We were happy about that!  He took us over to the vineyards along side of the bodega and explain about the importance of growing grapes. The company had 750 hectares of land for its vineyards.  A hectare is about two and a half acres of land.  So 750 hectares would be about 1,575 acres.  No wonder we saw vineyards as far as the eye could see!

The grapes that the winery grows for red Rioja is a blend of mainly Tempranillo and Garnacha grapes and sometimes also a blend of Graciano and Mazuelo grapes. They give a fruity to spicy wine.  The traditionally white Rioja are Viura and Malvasia grapes.  The grapes grow through the summer and are harvested in the fall around September and October.  The soil is clay with high concentration of chalk and iron. There is also a concentration of limestone, sandstone and alluvial silt. Fabio also mentioned that they have had to prune higher on the vine because of global warming of increasing heat that somehow affects the lower part of the plant.

Graciano and Garnacha Roja

Garnacha Blanca

Temtranillo Grape

Baby grapes in late May

We then followed Fabio into the main building.

Building for processing the wine

When the grapes are harvested and transported to the wine-making center, they are whole.  The grapes are then crushed to release the juice and allow fermentation and maceration to occur. Maceration is the process by which the crushed gape skins are left in the juice until they have imparted the desired color or the proper amount of tannins and aroma. This crushing process was done by foot, but now it is mechanized.  All of us remember the I Love Lucy episode when Lucy took the job of foot crushing.  It turned out as an all out fight in the crush barrel.  It was certainly "a barrel of laughs!"

Crushing fluted rollers

Old style press

The modern equipment most commonly used consists of two fluted rollers that turn in opposite directions and crush the grapes between them.  The juice can then be extracted to the extent needed resulting in different maceration conditions.  The use of greater or lesser intensity of crushing gives the wine maker a direct influence on the quality of the wine to be made. The separation of the stalk from the grape is optional.  It is done if the maceration is to be fairly long, and if there is a risk that substances present in the stalks which can be bitter and astringent to the taste may dissolve into the wine.

Fabio explains the use of Stainless Steel Vats.  They keep the wines at  the same quality and consistency is important.

The next step is the pre-fermentation treatment.  This can take place before or during the filling of the vinification vat.  This is when sulphurization is done.  The addition of sulphur dioxide (SO2) to the grapes has important effects:  it has an antioxidant effect which inhibits the action of the grape oxidases.  These are responsible for the oxidization of the phenolic compounds: tannins and coloring matter.  Sulphur dioxide also inhibits the activity of lactic bacteria that making fermentation impossible.  It is important that the sulphur dioxide be evenly distributed throughout the crop.  The best way to do this is to use a dosing pump during the transfer of the grapes after crushing to the fermentation vat.  This starts automatically at the same time as the grape pump. 

Pumps

All the grapes have yeast on the surface of their skin and when these are in contact with the juice , they multiply and initiate the fermentation.  In order to get fermentation to begin quickly it is justified to add yeast.  A rigorous selection for natural yeast is done to chose the yeast that have high fermentative powers and have an aromatic neutrality.

The fermentation vats are close by so that transfer of juice can be done quickly.  The fermentation vats are made of wood, cement, enamelled steel and stainless steel. Because fermentation and maceration occur simultaneously and interact in numerous way there are several controls in the vinification vats.  They have a thermometer, inspection hatch, tasting tap, and a remontage system to enable must (fruit juice) to be poured over the floating cap of grape skins during fermentation.

Fermentation in iron vats for red wine.

When the fermentation vat has been filled with grapes and the sulphurization and optional addition of yeast have been carried out, fermentation begins.   We didn't get to see this because it is done after the harvest, but what usually happens is that the whole thing starts to bubble releasing carbon dioxide. This is the time the winemaker has to be on his toes to make sure fermentation and maceration are proceeding well.  This first way to do this is by tasting.  Tasking is a skill that the best wine makers have because by tasting the can tell the fermentation levels, the dissolving of sugar and carbon dioxide and the state of the suspended solid matter.

Jean would like to be a taster!

Fabio the led us to the barrel casks. Oak barrels are used for aging the wine.  Oak wood is a living material; it lives and breathes in coexistence with the wine it contains.  It favors chemical exchanges, especially oxidization, oxygenation and a slight reduction of oxidization.  This preserves and enhances the fundamental and particular qualities of the wine such as the tannins that bestow on it distinguishing aromatic elements.  Tannins are the indispensable complement to the making and keeping of wines for a long aging. Even the young wines are kept in oak barrels at least a year.

Young Mary and Meg among the aging barrels...

The art of barrel making goes back to the third century A.D. Before their use people stored liquids in tarracotta amphoras or jars and bottles made of animal skins.  For longer storage of liquids, wooden cask were preferred.  This winery gets its oak wood from Ohio and Indiana.  France has a lot of oak trees and sometimes they share, but because they have a huge wine making industry, they pretty much keep most of their wood.  The making of barrels for wine making is an art form and the industry is still very vibrant in Spain.

Tarracotta amphoras

Barrels can only be used for five years, then they need to be thoroughly cleaned and dried for a year before they are used again.

Cleaning  and washing old barrels

Inside of a barrel

 The Faustino family goes back since 1861, and it is a tradition that the family is most proud.

Eleuterio Martinez Arzok and his wife who began the winery.

Don Faustino Martinez Perez de Albeniz continued and expanded the winery in 1920

Julio Faustino Martinez began exporting the wine in 1957

So in way of review, the Faustino family had an artist pain the process of wine making and these paintings were displayed in their tasking room.

Preparing the soil and planting the vines.

Harvesting the grapes

Transporting the grapes

Pressing the grapes

Making the barrel casks

Aging Casks of wine

Celebrating the tasting of the wine

Now Fabio wanted to take us to the cellar where the wines were kept in bottles.  There they age a bit longer.  Some are even saved for members of the royal family to use when they need them.

Fabio in the Cellar of aging wines.

Crianza Wine 2009

Now it was time to party!  We were ready for wine tasting.  So Fabio led the way to the large hall where everything was prepared for us to enjoy Faustino's best wines! We all thanked Fabio for his fabulous knowledge of wine and his use of perfect English!

glasses ready, food ready, wine ready...lets start!

The sisters enjoying one with a toast!

JJ and Jean can't get enough of a good thing!

Jean in a state of rapture; Father Cadarso as a double fisted taster.

Anette and Carol sit this one out!

Doug and Amy feeling the result of a perfect glass of wine!

Indeed it was a wonderful day and we got our taste of fabulous wine.  As I went to the wine shop to inquire about getting some for the trip home, I met a young couple who had the same plan. They were on vacation from Valencia and they encouraged me to visit their part of Spain which gives me a reason to return!

The young couple from Valencia.

As we were ready to leave everyone got in the bus but a few of us still enjoying the day!

What a perfect day and Choo knows how to express it!