Vinisterra
Vineyard and Winery
Vinisterra
winery is located in the town of San Antonio de las Minas, 25 km east
of Ensenada. Take the Ensenada – Tecate highway and drive 20
minutes from Ensenada.
The building
is constructed of thermal materials and it is semi buried to
maintain cold temperatures naturally. The brick used is made in the
town of San Antonio de las Minas.
Winemaking
at Vinisterra has as a premise the greatest respect for the fruit
that every vineyard gives us each year. The idea is to intervene minimally
as far as technology is concerned, encouraging the full expression
of the grape’s origin and the climatic conditions of that year.
The grape
is harvested in small plastic boxes, to guarantee its undamaged arrival
to the winery.
Once
there the job is done quickly and the selected grape passes through
the destemer and then the mill, before falling by gravity into the
fermentation tanks.
Alcoholic
fermentation takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel
tanks. Maceration may last several weeks.
This
is followed my malolactic fermentation in French and American oak
barrels, where the wine is further aged at appropriate temperatures
until it is ready to be bottled, which is followed by a period of
settling.
Baja
California, or better said Ensenada , has a Mediterranean climate,
generally speaking. The scarce rainfall occurs only in winter,
temperatures stay warm and there are many hours of sunlight.
The cold
California current, which descends down the Pacific Ocean along the
peninsula’s shoreline, works as a temperature regulator not
allowing the climate to warm excessively.
The
warm and sunny days bring our grapes to maturity and the cool nights
are indispensable to promote aroma and acidity in the wines
The scarcity
of water in the vineyards traditionally produces low yields, which
in turn results in wines with good fruit concentration and expression.
It also
makes pests easier to control and allows for minimal application
of pesticides in comparison, for example, with large parts of Europe.
Vinisterra
is establishing vineyards in San Antonio de las Minas, 25 km east
of Ensenada, growing Chardonnay and Viogner for white wines,
Tempranillo, Syrah, Mourvedre, and Cabernet Sauvignon for red wines.
In the
Santo Tomas valley, 50 km. South of Ensenada, we have vineyards primarily
planted with red vrietals, among them Tempranillo, Grenache,
Syrah Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
The
vineyards are characterized by a density of between 4,500 and 6,000
plants per hectare, medium high density. We are focusing on
5 tons of yield per hectare (between 27 and 35 hl per hectare), or
low yields. This is to ensure that we can achieve the
best grape quality possible.
Aside
from our own vineyards, , we have agreements with vinegrowers in the
Guadalupe and San Vicente valleys, which allow-s us to rely on high
quality grapes and, depending on their origin, different characteristics.
