Monte
Xanic
- Location:
Valle de Guadalupe
- Web
Site: www.montexanic.com
- Tel:
+52 (646) 174-6769 /174-6155 / 155-2080 / 545-1111
Located
near the town of Francisco Zarco in the Valle de Guadalupe, Mount
Xanic Vineyard and Winery is less than two decades old. It has quickly
gained a reputation as one of Mexico's finest and is credited with
putting the country's wine on the map.
Mount
Xanic produces three lines: Monte Xanic, Calixa and the Gran Ricardo,
which has a limited production of 1,500 bottles and is only bottled
in Magnums. Mount Xanic has received many awards, among them a bronze
medal at the 2000 Challenge International du Vin in Blaye-Bourg, France
for the 1998 Monte Xanic Chardonnay. The 1995 Monte Xanic Cabernet
Sauvignon received a Gold Medal and the Civart Prix d'Excellence in
the 1998 challenge.
In 1987
five partners founded Monte Xanic with the intention of producing
the highest quality wines and establishing a new benchmark for Mexican
winemaking.The Guadalupe Valley located in Baja California , 1300
feet above sea level and 10 miles from the Pacific Coast , offers
optimal conditions for the cultivation of the finest grapes.
Wine
has been made in Baja California since the eighteenth century, when
the Jesuit missionaries brought to the peninsula cuttings of what
was later known as the Mission grape and which is still grown throughout
the region. However, it was not until 1834 that the Dominican friars
founded the Mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe of the North, which gave
its name to the valley. This was the last mission to be established
in the Californias and the one which endured the shortest time, as
it was abandoned in 1840 after an Indian attack.
We know
that grape vines were planted at the Guadalupe Mission, and wine was
probably made there for sacred purposes. In 1872, historian Miguel
Clemente Rojo briefly reported that the mission had been destroyed.
Its ruins are located approximately a mile from our vineyard.
The
story of wine in the Guadalupe Valley begins again in 1904, when a
group of one hundred Russian families, belonging to a religious sect
called "molokans", purchased some of the land which had
belonged to the mission and settled there. As pacifists, they had
left Russia to avoid being drafted into the Czar's armies. They cultivated
several crops, grapevines among them, and gave a new push to wine-making
in the valley. As new settlers arrived, they followed their example
and, as the century progressed, the production of wine increased and
new vineyards were planted. Several large wineries were established
and the wines of the Guadalupe Valley began to acquire recognition.
Most recently, the focus within the valley has been to improve quality;
the results are evident today as consumers begin to appreciate the
unique character of its wines.
The roots
of Monte Xanic are in the Guadalupe Valley , both literally and figuratively.
Not only is the vineyard there, but they chose this place with the
firm conviction that the Guadalupe Valley is a great Mexican wine
region.
In 1987
five partners founded Monte Xanic with the intention of producing
the highest quality wines and establishing a new benchmark for Mexican
winemaking. The Guadalupe Valley located in Baja California , 1300
feet above sea level and 10 miles from the Pacific Coast , offers
optimal conditions for the cultivation of the finest grapes. The climate
is dominated by scarce rain and constant ocean breezes, the cool summers,
together with high density vineyards, promote the gradual ripening
of the grapes with a good and balanced level of acidity.
“Xanic”
is an appellative of the native Cora Indian dialect and means “the
flower that blooms after the first rains”, the Cora still live
in some parts of Nayarit between Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan . The
name “Monte Xanic” (Monte is the Spanish word for hill)
arose while contemplating the vineyards from the peak of the property
during springtime.
At Monte
Xanic they cultivate a relatively low volume of grapes enabling them
to maintain strict control over the most important characteristics
of their wines. They are able to precisely determine the moment at
which to harvest the grapes and they select by hand only those clusters
that meet their quality standards.
Their
equipment is the most modern from low pressure presses to the purchase
of new French oak barrels every year. Mount Xanic wines receive the
attention and investment necessary to achieve excellence in quality
and maintain that standard year after year.
Today,
Monte Xanic produces 50,000 cases of wine annually, distributed to
exclusive markets throughout the world and sold under three labels:
“ Monte Xanic , “Calixa and “Gran Ricardo”.
Monte Xanic wines have been awarded gold, silver and bronze medals
in the United States , France and Canada . And perhaps, more importantly,
our wines are on the tables of people who seek out and appreciate
fine wines.
Everything
a wine can ever be is in the grape. Through the vine the grapes absorb
the characteristics of soil and climate; the grape interprets them
while contributing its varietal character.
While
the characteristics of the vineyard are natural and cannot be reproduced
by technology, it can be used to allow the grapes to develop their
full potential.
This
is why at Monte Xanic they cultivate our vineyard with both traditional
and modern techniques in order to obtain the maximum expression of
our vineyard.
One
of the most important aspects is controlling yields, sacrificing volume
for quality. Each vine is pruned to yield a limited number of grapes,
but each one of these has a high concentration of flavors and aromas
which will be revealed in the wine.
They
also prune leaves and branches to reduce herbaceous aromas. Drip irrigation
controls the amount of water that goes into the vineyard, and they
protect the vines from birds with nets, as they not only make off
with part of the crop but damage the remaining fruit.
The Mount
Xanic Wine-making philosophy
To make their wines, they use the most advanced technology to create
the ideal conditions during pressing, fermentation, ageing and bottling
to allow the greatest development of what the grape contains.
To prevent
damage, during the harvest our grapes are hand-picked, placed in small
baskets and immediately taken to the press. White grapes are picked
at night, to preserve freshness and avoid oxidation as much as possible.
They use a membrane press which slowly extracts the juice at low pressure.
For
red wines, Mount Xanic carries out two types of fermentation; one
takes place in a rotofermenter which produces high extract of color
and flavor. The other is the traditional maceration with the pumping-over
technique to obtain good concentration and refinement.
Both
their red and white wines (with the exception of the Chenin Blancs)
are aged separately in new French oak barrels until the assemblage
takes place, the final blend which is then bottled. The Chenin Blancs
are held in their fermentation tanks until the spring following the
harvest.
All Mount
Xanic wines age in bottle for a period of time before being released.
The Name
“Xanic” the flower that blooms after the first
rain, comes from the indigenous Cora Indians who today live in regions
of Nayarit, between Puerto Vallarta an Mazatlán on Mexico´s
Pacific Coast. In November 1987 during the partners first visit to
the 200 acres that are today part of our vineyards, the first rain
of the season began to fall, suggesting the name "Monte Xanic".
Calixa
(pronounced cali-sha) A new expression for the mexican wine of the
new millenium.
The ethnic roots of the name Calixa have a soft and sensual sound,
yet at the same time, exotic; a simple reflection of it´s young
exuberant personality and it´s place of origin: the deserted
valleys in the heart of the Baja California Peninsula.
The print
on the label shows it´s elegant expression. The gold seal engraved
with the prehispanic symbol “Dos Acatl” means “New
Fire”, it represents a belief in some of the most ancient cultures
of our country; every 52 years a man´s cycle ends and a new
one begins along with hope for the future.
We thought appropriate to use this concept as the basis to develop
the image for the first Mexican wine of the new millennium due to
the recent changes in our country and the wine industry particularly
in Monte Xanic.
The vision
is that Calixa will set a standard during the rebirth of the Mexican
wine industry. They offer national consumers "a new selection
that achieves an authentic expression of the Mexican wines both in
quality and price, a true alternative to imported wines".
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