Media Gallery

Orgullo label
(image)

Gran Cerdo label
(image)

Gran Cerdo
back label
(image)

Gonzalo on his father's exposure to chemicals
(video)

Gonzalo on homeopathic treatments
(video)

Panorama of the vineyards
(video)

Gonzalo on vineyard history
(video)

Gonzalo preps cement tank
(video)

Wine Culture Connection

Crisis Cuvées
The Impact of Tough Times
On Spanish Wine Culture

Much like elsewhere in the wine world, the difficult economy has made a big impact on both the creation and consumption of wine in Spain. The challenge for highly committed, fine wine producers has been to find ways to adjust to downward spending consumers, but at the same time create wines that reflect the quality, character and integrity of the winery's higher priced offerings.

There are many strategies: such as cutting expenses to the bone and taking a big bite out of profitability, but releasing the same wines. Others release similar wines with less aging time in bottle to cut costs, but under different labels so as not to ruin the prestige of their brand when the economy finally recovers.

Others have created un-oaked young wines or wines oaked for only a few months to keep costs down and sales flowing. While others still have declassified their wines from more expensive, prestigious appellations, or employed a mix of strategies which may even vary from market to market.

For Gran Cerdo, the idea was to employ the same family vineyards as used in Orgullo, but to age the wine less time in oak, less time in bottle and without Rioja DOCa certification, which adds to the price. The result is a fruitier more easy-going wine than the more structured, more complex Orgullo.

At Orgullo each wine reflects the terroir of the estate but has its own appeal, each suited to different drinkers, moods or moments. Gran Cerdo for value and easy-going drinkability, and Orgullo for something more substantial and thought provoking.

Homeopathic Treatments
Natural Alternatives
to Aggressive Chemicals

Gonzalo Gonzalo has made significant efforts to resusitate his lands from the negative and deadening effects of prolonged use of aggressive chemicals. He has experimented with numerous alternative ways to keep his vineyards healthy without resorting to commercial chemicals and adopted numerous organic practices.

Like a growing number of winemakers, viticulturists and farmers across the globe grappling with these issues, Gonzalo Gonzalo is always on the lookout for new ways to keep his vineyards in good shape and free from harmful chemicals. Not only for the natural balance and health of his vineyards, but also for his personal health and that of his co-workers.

Gonzalo points out Horsetail grass at left next to the stream, and an Ortiga plant below his hand, both of which are employed in homeopathic treatments for vineyard ailments.
Photo: Justin Berlin © 2010 Spanish-Wine-Exlusives

Gonzalo's passion and energy for creative ways to work without commercial treatments encompasses more than simply his concern for the environment and the land. It also goes straight to the heart of his work as a winemaker: the character, expression and quality of the wine he makes.

Yet there is a powerful subtext. His father became seriously ill from prolonged exposure to chemicals out in the vineyard. This is a significant motivating factor as well.

As a winemaker, his wines are a reflection of himself, his colleagues Teresa and Fernando, who work with him in the vineyards, and his family's lands. But they also represent a push toward a healthier way of working in greater harmony with nature. It is pride in the fruits of their labor that gives his wines their name, Orgullo, which is Spanish for pride.

Horsetail Grass
Mildew and fungus are an ongoing issue out in the vineyards and Gonzalo makes a Horsetail grass treatment to minimize its effects. Horsetail grass grows naturally on the edges of streams in the area and he harvests it in June or July when it is tall enough and then boils it in a little rainwater into a solution, which is misted on affected vines with a spray bottle.

Ortiga Plants
Ortiga plants also grow at streams edge, and are also boiled into a rainwater treatment solution in much the same way as the Horsetail grass. The Ortiga treatment is used to strengthen vines that are suffering various weakening ailments.

The Horsetail and Ortiga treatments are two of the most important homeopathic or biodynamic techniques Gonzalo uses in the vineyards. They help him grow his grapes closer to their full potential and expression without longterm adverse effects to the ecological balance of his vineyards or to his own health.

Click Here to see the video clip on these natural treatments.

Orgullo & Gran Cerdo
Jump to wine!

	Gonzalo Gonzalo joking around, out in his element, his family's La Tejera vineyards.

Orgullo is his flagship wine and the namesake of his terroir-driven winery. Gran Cerdo is his iconoclast new wine made from the same family vineyards as Orgullo, but released younger and aged less time in oak, from declassified Rioja grapes—making it a tremendous value in a Rioja style, barrel-aged wine.

Gonzalo Gonzalo fiercely protects the terroir of his family vineyards and rejects market driven fashions, formulas, chemical treatments and conformism. Instead he has sought out his own methods with respect for the land, his vineyards, and the traditions of his forefathers. He balances this respect with formal training in the latest enological techniques and methods.

Gonzalo Gonzalo was born and raised in Fuenmayor in Rioja Alta, home of his family's vineyards. He studied Biology in León and then oenology at the University of La Rioja. His winemaking career began in industrial wineries, but he also traveled through France and Italy visiting small wineries. He was inspired by the independence and ingenuity of the winemakers he met at many of these unassuming countryside wineries.

In 2003 Gonzalo left the more commercial side of the wine world and began Orgullo in Fuenmayor. Orgullo is part of The Wine Love, which encompasses all his wine projects and also includes Lazarus Wine, another SWE selection.

Gonzalo prepares a cement tank for use. He likes the temperature stability and slight oxidative properties of cement tanks, as do many top quality producers like Château Lafite in Bordeaux. See video at left.

The soil itself suffered as well, losing its vitality as seen in the deadening of the biodiversity in the vineyard. Insects, earth worms, wildflowers, snails and the various organisms of the vineyard ecosystem were no longer present as they were even two generations ago.

Orgullo — Flagship of the House
The ladybug on the label of Orgullo is a symbol of the renewed vitality of the vineyards which Gonzalo has worked long and hard to revive. The ladybug is one of the "good" insects that preys on aphids, mites and other "bad" insects. The chemical treatments of the recent past minimized both the "good" and the "bad" and in the process the vitality of the vineyards.

However, this restored vigor requires plenty of vigilance and creative solutions to combat the various hazards that can befall vineyards, such as mildew, mold and other pests. For this Gonzalo keeps a close watch and has revived natural treatments and organic practices used in the past to maintain healthy vineyards. For more on this see the video clip at left and our Wine Culture Connection piece on the right.

The 100% Tempranillo vineyards themselves were planted 35 years ago in the town of Fuenmayor in the La Tejera section, which is an area between groves of trees along the Ebro River and Mount San Llorente in the heart of the Rioja Alta sub-zone. The soil is calcareous clay and the vineyards are 4.5 hectares in size. Gonzalo and his helpers Teresa and Fernando methodically and with perfection in mind tend the vines year round and work only with the best grapes they can coax from the land for Orgullo.

Gran Cerdo — Young Upstart with an Attitude
Gran Cerdo was born out of Gonzalo's desire to make a younger, more affordable wine better suited to the today's challenging economic conditions. But a wine that still reflects his winemaking philosophy.

A funny thing happened at the bank when securing financing to launch the new wine. Well, not very funny at all, actually. The bank said no; truly making this a wine of the times. The denial of the loan was on the basis that wine is not a seizable asset.

Undaunted, and not to be denied, Gonzalo persevered and eventually created the wine without the help of bank funding. However, the final wine does bare some influence from the bank executives that said no. They inspired the name of the wine with a bit of playful comeuppance: Gran Cerdo, which means big pig in Spanish. Fittingly, Gran Cerdo pairs well with roast pork loin, pork chops or pork sausage, among a wide range of other casual fare.

We agree with Gonzalo that some of the best things in life cannot be impounded. Be sure to click to view the back label for more of Gonzalo's amusing take on the matter.

Here are a few of the credos that make up Gonzalo's philosophy:

• To work only with the best grapes, with creativity and new ideas, respecting the raw material that makes our wines special.


• To study and value traditional forms of production in each wine growing zone.


• To protect the biodiversity in the vineyard, respecting the local flora and fauna, and eliminating the use of artificial fertilizers.


• To promote research in the Faculty of Oenology of the University of La Rioja by delivering grapes to their experimental winery, helping future winemakers in their training.


• To recognize the hard work of the wine-grower and his effort to obtain the best grapes without resorting to a chemical means in the treatment of the vineyard.


• To forge relationships with other artistic forms such as painting, music, fashion or architecture, stimulating creative talent.


• To maintain contact with winemakers from other countries to address common concerns; supporting an open, communicative mindset that promotes the dissemination of our knowledge.


• To elaborate wines without applying recipes, attending to the specificity of each vintage, giving more weight to intuition, imagination and experience than to laboratory analyses.


• To foment good oenological practices without neglecting relationships with friends and relatives, a danger in a world as absorbing as oenology.

WINE FROM ORGULLO

Gran Cerdo LOT#2010 Vino de Mesa Red $12 –
Gran Cerdo is a bright and fruit forward Tempranillo red balanced by smooth, ripe tannins. Sourced from the outstanding 2010 vintage Gran Cerdo shows a brilliant ruby color in the glass. The palate is juicy, harmonious and highly drinkable; loaded with fresh cherry flavors over strawberry and spice undertones. Touches of earth and leather show off its Riojan origin. Fine tannins offer nice grip and lead into a lively, cherry kissed finish. Pairs beautifully with pasta, pizza, panninis, hamburgers or roasts.

Tech Details:
Less than 1500 cases produced. Blend: 100% Tempranillo.

Orgullo 2007 Rioja DOCa $22 –
Orgullo is a distinctive and well-balanced Rioja, offering pure flavors and carefully crafted terroir expression. Because of the cool but long growing season of 2007, this edition of Orgullo offers a bit greater density than the 2006 with deeper dark fruit notes and a more elegant ripeness. Ruby in the glass, the bouquet is full with black cherry, blueberry and violet scents plus touches of earth, wood smoke and spice. The palate is juicy and chewy with black cherry, strawberry and blueberry flavors that are accompanied by notes of cassis, violet, earthy minerals, undergrowth, soft vanilla and dark chocolate. The finish is long and fine with lingering ripe, rounded, tannins. A very satisfying and pure Rioja red. Serve with a wide range of dishes from roast chicken or pork chops dusted sprinkled with paprika, to sausages, seared duck breast, roast beef or herbed rack of lamb.
91 Points —Wine & Spirits

Tech Details:
1800 cases produced. Blend: 100% Tempranillo.
Oak Treatment: Aged 14 months in used French oak barrels.

Orgullo 2006 Rioja DOCa – Sold Out
Orgullo is a lively and distinctive Rioja offering pure, expressive flavors and great balance. Ruby colored in the glass, the bouquet is flush with strawberry and cherry scents and notes of earth and spice. The palate is vibrant and chewy with cherry, candied strawberry and raspberry flavors that are accompanied by soft notes of violet, undergrowth, smoke and traces of quartz minerality, nutmeg, vanilla and dark chocolate. The finish is smooth and lingering with ripe, rounded, medium weight tannins and after-notes of strawberry and spice. A very satisfying and pure Rioja red.

Tech Details:
Less than 2430 cases produced. Blend: 100% Tempranillo.
Oak Treatment: Aged 14 months in used French oak barrels.