Finca Mónica Vineyards

William Long and Fletch Henderson, our trade representative in the US market, visited some of the vineyards that supply fruit for our Finca Mónica range.

A spectacular vineyard in the mid-height range in terms of altitude, around 300m, the immaculately tended vines give a good idea as to the quality of the grapes that it produces. With poor gravel and stone based soils that retain warmth over a layer of clay, and a more Mediterranean climate in this, the eastern-most part of Rioja, Garnacha and Graciano ripen well here.

When we visited in mid-May, a spell of warm, sunny weather had lead to even fruit-set in the grapes and expectations of a good harvest for Garnacha although Tempranillo and Viura are likely to be short.

In the parcels that are managed organically, green harvesting and canopy management are used to improve aeration around bunches and avoid any shading or trapped moisture that could lead to fungal diseases.

The winery was started by five families of vine growers in 1987, after the closure of the cooperative that bought their grapes. Now with 14 families involved, the winery has grown to export to over 30 countries and with a clear focus on quality from the vine to the bottle, has won many international awards. In 2017, it even made it into the top ten of the World Association of Wine Writers and Journalists’ annual ranking of the “World’s Top 100 Wineries.”