Cavas
Valmar
AWARDS
and AKNOWLEDGMENTS
- 1995
- Won a Gold Medal for their 1994 Chenin Blanc at Fiestas Vendimia
-
1995
- Won an honorary mention for their Cabernet Sauvignon from their
1991 reserve at The Best Mexican Wine Contest in Mexico City
- 1996
- Won a Gold Medal for their Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 Reserve at
Fiestas Vendimia
- 1995
- Won an honorary mention for their Cabernet Sauvignon from their
1991 reserve at The Best Mexican Wine Contest in Mexico City
-
1999
- Out of 560 wines graded only 172 were selected to qualify at the
for the prestigious Wines & Spirits Magazine February Edition
Best Wine Competition receiving 82 points our 100 for their Chenin
Blanc 1997 reserve and Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 reserve.
History
The Cavas
Valmar history begins with the arrival of Don Federico Valentin to
Ensenada in 1919 from the French Alpes in lovely mountains of France.
He dedicated himself to attending his ranch. As a good Frenchmen,
he attended his own wines and he began to share them with his friends.
His children Hector and Gontran Valentin with Fernando Martain joined
together to establish the Cavas Valmar in 1983.
They
begin their work in an old parking lot on the ranch with a small mill
and other equipment that included 20 American Oak barrels.
At that
time one could only buy Palomino, Ugniblanc and Moscatel varieties
to produce white wines along with Grenache, Rubi-Red, Valdepeñas
and Italian varieties for the red.
In 1985,
Cavas Valmar produced its first two wines; one white and one red.
They used these two wines to launch their business. That same year
they began to make their Cabernet Sauvignon. As time passed the white
wine changed its formulation to what it is today; a wine made with
Chevin Blanc grapes.
Production
and Sales
Today
the Cavas Valmar production is approximately 15,000 bottles yearly
with 80% being of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Chenin Blanc. These wines
are consumed in the best restaurants of Mexico. We mention a few below:
Four
Seasons Mexico City, La Cabaña del Gaucho in Villahermosa,
Merida and Leon Guanajuato, Las Palmillas Hotels, Paraíso Los
Cabos, Twin Dolphin and Melia in Cabo San Lucas, Malarrimo Restaurant
in Guerrero Negro, 100 años Restaurant, La Tradición
and Victoria in Tijuana, Rey Sol, Embotelladora Vieja, La Esquina,
Las Conchas, Kaia, Punta Morro and Haliotis in Ensenada.
Elaboration
Currently
the grapes used to make the Cavas Valmar wines come from wineries
located in the Valle of San Vicente which is south of Ensenada. The
vines there are 40 years old. The Chenin Blanc is produced at their
winery in the Valle de Guadalupe with 30 year old plants.
The technology
to make the Cava Valmar wines has constantly changed improving year
after year: They have put forth larger and more modern equipment with
even more adequate humidity temperature controls.
The elaboration
of Chenin Blanc begins in July when vintners visit the wineries to
check the characteristics desired for the grape harvest. That is to
say that they look for sugar content, acidity in addition to selecting
the part of the vineyard that is the healthiest with no damage to
the leaves or the grapes.
Once
they determine the harvest date, the harvest will begin in the first
hours of the morning using plastic boxes with a capacity for 10 kilograms
to avoid loosing the fruitiness and damage to the grapes during their
transportation to Ensenada.
In Ensenada,
the grapes are separated from the vines sending the juice, skin and
seeds to the fermentation tanks. Afterwards, only the juice is sent
to the fermentation. The skins and seeds are pressed and this juice
is fermented separately being of lower quality. This juice is fermented
at lower temperature of approximately 12 degrees centigrade for two
or three months and after gelatin is added to be filtrated and stabilized
for bottling. The bottles are sent to storage to rest for at least
six months before being labeled to be ready for sale.
The elaboration
of the Cabernet Sauvignon begins in September with the supervision
of the vineyard. When the optimum conditions of quality are reached,
the harvest begins. These grapes are also picked in the early hours
of the morning in plastic boxes for their transportation to Ensenada
where they begin their grinding process sending juice, skin and seed
to the fermentation tanks where they stay for 12 days extracting the
colors, flavors and aroma that will give the Cavas Valmar character.
Once the alcoholic fermentation has completed the the wine is placed
in the wood barrels where the second fermentation called malolactica
begins.
At the
end of the year the wine is sent to other barrels separating the sediment.
They are sent to another facility with controlled temperature and
humidity. They remain there aging a minimum of 12 months. After this,
a bit of egg whites are added and filtrated, stabilized and bottled
to be sent back to the winery where it will spend another 12 months
before being labeled to be ready for sale.
