Viñas del Vero is the leading winery of the Somontano denomination of origin. It takes its name from a river, the Vero, that flows through the Somontano region and is famous for its ravines, gorges and canyons.
Viñas del Vero is located at the foothills of the Pyrenees, the impressive mountain range which acts as the natural border between France and Spain. In fact, in Spanish, Somontano means 'base of a mountain'. Its vineyards are located at a height between 450 meter and 750 meters above sea level.
Pyrenees on the background of Viñas del Vero.
Vero river canyons and adventurers.
History
The Viñas del Vero winery was set up in Somontano at the end of 1986 through the acquisition of 550 hectares of land in Barbastro and other nearby villages. In 1987 the land began to be replanted with grape varieties traditionally grown in the region (Tempranillo, Moristel, Garnacha and Macabeo), along with others of different origins (Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir).
The company is one of Spain’s largest vineyard owners, whilst the technology used in the winery and the style of the wines it produces make it a benchmark for the rest.
In 2008, Viñas del Vero joined the Gonzalez Byass wine portfolio.
Technology
This young winery is equipped with the very latest viticultural technology, which follows the natural winemaking process whilst guaranteeing precise monitoring of environmental and hygiene conditions. Viñas del Vero was one of Spain's first wine producers to obtain a Quality Certification for compliance with the international UNE-EN-ISO 9002 standard.
Its most striking characteristic is its vertical layout, with a drop of more than 12 metres. Once harvested, the grapes arrive at the top level of the winery, where they are selected. From there, the force of gravity, careful and constant monitoring of the process, and the magic which goes into every great wine, complete the process. Viñas del Vero does not use pumps or other harsh mechanical processes for racking the grapes and must.
Sustainability
Viñas del Vero is actively engaged in preserving some local grape varieties of the Somontano which were on the verge of extinction, 'Secastilla muscatel' and 'Alcoñon rojo', 'Parraleta' or 'Moristel' propagating them and working with several local organizations to prevent its extinction and give them the place its history deserves.
Viñas del Vero wines are fully organic. No herbicides, insecticides, fungicides or synthetic fertilizers are used during the whole wine making process.
Water reduction through drip irrigation at night controlled by humidity monitors, and purification of the water used in the wine making and re-utilization to the vineyards closest to the winery so that water consumption is reduced to a minimum.
Viñas del Vero is a member of the European Life+ Rewind program which means the energy used for purifying and irrigating can be recycled by 3 photovoltaic arrays installed at the purification plant itself.
In its compromise to reduce CO2 emissions to fight climate change, Viñas del Vero is now developing a hydrogen powered vehicle for vineyard works, in collaboration with the University of Zaragoza and Lifte-Csic.
Clarión wine
Clarión is an exceptional white wine which carries the proud reputation of being the best white of Viñas del Vero and a recognition all over Spain as one of the best Chardonnay white wines produced in Spain. It is a blend of different white grape varieties, focusing mostly on the fantastic Chardonnay grape grown in Somontano region, but with some changing proportions of Gewürztraminer and Riesling, depending on each years harvest.
As a curiosity, Clarión wine was selected for the Spanish King's Felipe II and Queen Letizia's wedding cocktail party in 2004. This selection process was done in a blind tasting, with a further second selection from the Royal sommeliers.
The vineyards are surrounded by many flora, specially almond trees and olives.
The vineyard
The La Piedra vineyard is in the municipality of Barbastro at 415 m above sea level. It was first planted in 1987 and is the best site for our Chardonnay grapes.
The soil in this vineyard is unusual in that it is haplic gypsisol, in other words soil that has evolved over marl and clay with an accumulation of carbonates. This is poor soil by definition, with low water retention capability. It lies on a slope and is quite shallow, which significantly limits how vigorously the vines grow.
The intense and highly reflective white color of the gypsum crystals means that the 'albedo' (the proportion of the incident light or radiation that is reflected by a surface) is very high, which in turn means that the grapes ripen very fully.
These vines are grown on high trellises (up to 2.4m high) so that the bunches are shaded from the intense sunlight that falls on the leaves.
