In Pavilion 4 of Spain, stand F114 will be Monastrell and Moscatel, Vinalopó and Marina Alta, by Bocopa, Finca Collado, Faelo, Las Virtudes, Bodegas Pinoso and Bodegas Volver and Pepe Mendoza Casa Agrícola.

“It is another commitment to internationalise our offer in times where domestic consumption is stagnant” and which is complemented by the fairs in Barcelona and Dusseldorf this year, in the words of the president of the Regulatory Council.

La entrada Alicante DOP wines in Paris Wine 2025 se publicó primero en Vinos Alicante.

The Spanish taster of the guide selects, according to his criteria, wines from each area to assess the evolution and also the evolution of the vintages, of which he points out the power of the drought or the “madness” of the weather in recent years, which includes phenomena such as the “Dana”.

The Alicante wineries that have been tasted are Colección de Toneles Centenarios, Pepe Mendoza Casa Agrícola, El Sequé, Casa Balaguer, Oscar Mestre (Bodegas Riko) and Aida i Luis. One new feature is the 96 points given to “Fondillón Luis XIV, 50 años”, one of the best awarded wines in recent years unanimously; but it also recognises its still wines such as “Las blancas tradicionales” with 92, “lo de Pepitin” with 92+ or its “Brisat 2023” with 91.

Other of the best scores come from the new products from El Sequé with “Morachuelas 2023” with 95 points and “el Hondonico 23” with 93 points. Wines that will appear on the market in October of this year.

For its part, Pepe Mendoza Casa Agrícola adds new scores with “La Viña de Madaras 2023” with 92+ points, “Pureza 2023” and “Casa Agrícola Tinto 2022, both with 92 points and “Casa Agrícola Blanco 2024” with 91 points. Points to be added to the record achieved with “Fierroca 2021”, “El Veneno 2021” or “Giró de Abargues” with 96 and 95 respectively.

Another winery that improves its scores is Casa Balaguer, the Villena house that triumphs with its whites such as “El Carro de la Mata” which has 93 points, “Casa Balaguer blanco 2024” 91 points, “Salicornio Moscatel 2023”: 92 points or “Rosado de Padilla 23” with another 91. And in reds “Casa Balaguer tinto 2023”: 91 and “La Rambla del Peligres 2022”: 92 points.

Oscar Mestre adds 93 points to his “Moscatel Noble 2020” and 91 points to his “Giró 2022” and “Insurrecte 2022”. And Aida and Luis get another 91 points with “Las fieras Giró 2021” and “Bashara 2022.

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Alicante will once again be present with the most select of its catalogue in Pavilion 8 of Montjuic where eleven wineries will constitute one of the most important representations of the Mediterranean. These are the wineries Alejandro Pérez, Bocopa, Casa Balaguer, Colección de Toneles Centenarios, Faelo, Finca Collado, Francisco Gómez, MG Wines, Santa Catalina del Mañán, Las Virtudes and Bodegas Xaló. They occupy spaces from C377 to C403.

Bodegas Mendoza, Casa Agrícola, Gandía Plá, Bodegas Riko, Murviedro, Shukhrat Khakimov or Volver will also be present in other formats.

Hotel Wine Fest
This year, the fair will also be held in some of the most select hotels in the Catalan capital through the Hotel Wine Fest, where the Alicante DOP has been invited to participate. This time, it will be held at the Hotel Monument, from January 22 to February 5, 2025 at the Casa Enric Batlló on Paseo de Gracia.
A series of wines have been selected to pair with its rich gastronomic offering, which includes Martin Berasategui’s restaurant, Lasarte (3 Michelin stars) and the sophisticated Oria (1 Michelin star), the cosmopolitan Hall0 Cocktail Bar and Verbena Terrace.
The wine catalogue selected for the occasion is made up of “Mira Salinas 2027”, “Giró de Abargues 2021”, “Virtudes Fortaleza 23”, “Tarima Hill 2021”, “Arbui blanco” and “Luis XIV ánforas 2023” and the monastrell “Sericis 2019”.

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Specifically, it has been in the Novelda village, where macabeo and muscatel are grown, the most experienced in wanting to enter the winery. With these first kg, the new 2024-2025 wine campaign and the 92nd with the Alicante DOP begins.

A campaign that is marked by the serious drought that is ravaging the Spanish east and that puts the historic vineyards on maximum alert and difficulties. The forecast is that the campaign will be even lower than the minimum recorded last year, which was about 19 million kilos of grapes. The final amount will have to wait until November, since the harvest in the area is prolonged due to the diversity of varieties and specifically the long ripening cycle of the Monastrell.

Next week, it is expected that the muscatels will begin to be harvested in Vinalopó and Marina Alta, a region that is particularly affected by the drought as there is no possibility of irrigation in its areas.

The Alicante DOP currently has some 10,500 hectares of vineyards spread across 7 Alicante regions (Vinalopó Medio, Alta and Bajo, L´Alcoiá, El Comtat, La Marina Alta and to a lesser extent also Marina Baja). Its main production consists of red wines, although in recent years, white and rosé wines have gained market positions.
The harvest coincides with the publication of a report by the Interprofessional del vino (Interprofessional Wine Association) which states that, in Spain, more than 40% of the municipalities have land dedicated to the cultivation of vines. And in those smaller municipalities (less than 2,000 inhabitants), more exposed to the demographic challenge, it is observed that those that have vineyards maintain, on average, a number of inhabitants 52.8% higher than their comparable ones without vineyards. Likewise, the indicators of labor activity (number of workers and their weight among the active population) are more positive in these municipalities with vineyards. (The report can be consulted at this link: https://interprofesionaldelvino.es/impulso-demografico-los-pueblos-con-vinedo-mantienen-cerca-de-un-53-mas-de-poblacion/

In the Valencian Community, the vineyard totals 62,176 hectares and the Alicante DOP represents 16%, of which more than 30% is currently organic.

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The report speaks of Alicante´s long history, the fact of it being the first Denomination of Origin in the world, its artisan wineries, its wines nowadays or its individuality as an area. It also highlights the variety of organic wines and its commitment to sustainability.

It also includes some of the wines present in the U.S. market with top quality scores such as the points awarded to Fondillones. And accompanying them, a set of outstanding references of Bocopa, Murviedro, Pepe Mendoza Casa Agrícola, Volver, Enrique Mendoza, Arráez, Fuego Lento or Bodegas Pinoso, in which they emphasize the richness of varieties: “there is no limit to creativity when the original varieties are well understood”.

The president of the PDO, José Juan Reus states that “We are more than proud to show off to the whole world the great historical heritage we have and that people begin to get to know the new Mediterranean wines, which are entirely unique.”

You can read the full article here: https://www.wineenthusiast.com/get-to-know-alicante-spains-hidden-gem/ 

La entrada U.S. describes Alicante PDO wines as “a hidden gem”. se publicó primero en Vinos Alicante.

In a fully packed room with a waiting list, high level wine professionals from all over the world attended this master class in which 6 of these products were tasted. Ballesteros considered them wines “perfect to enjoy in silence, to close your eyes and travel in time” and highlighted the particular style of each winemaking family in them. For his part, Ferran Centelles praised the power of the natural oxidation of these wines, truly unique in the world and with such a small production.

The presentation began with a review of the history of cooperage in Alicante with Rafael Poveda followed by David Carbonell, who explained the present-day cooperage heritage with “pipes”, “bocoyes”, and casks that are also unique in their creation and constitution. The wines tasted were Gran Mañán 1982, Laudum 1988, Tesoro de Villena Solera 1972, Luis XIV 25 years, Brotons Gran Reserva 1964 and a novelty such as Fondillón Siglo XXI from Bodegas Monóvar.

During the fair, the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, also praised the exclusivity of these wines, which were recognized by the organization itself in 2020.

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A group of 17 wineries from the Alicante DOP will attend presenting interesting novelties as well as new vintages of their wines, at stands in area C518-538.

The first wines to carry the “Alicante Singular” label that seek to give prominence to the most authentic values of the area will be presented jointly. In this case, the Alejandro Pérez winery will make its debut at the fair, bottling the monastrell – “Arbui” – with very particular genetics in the Mañán valley in Monóvar. Bodegas Volver, for its part, presents “+de 50” another monastrell made from old vines from dry recuperated soils in Pinoso. Colección de Toneles Centenarios presents “Les Passeres” and “Las Blancas traditional”, two wines made with historical varieties recovered in areas of La Canyada and with very limited production.

Also recuperating varieties is the new wine from Bodegas Las Virtudes, which has bottled a “Vinalopó Alicante Bouschet” that they present for the first time and that accompanies other wines from specific plots made with its “monastrell heritage” strategy such as “Patojo” or “Casa Ritas.”

Another winery launching two new wines is Sierra de Cabreras: “Carabibas Monastrell”, and its first white, the long-awaited “Carabibas Merseguera”, both with a selection of old vines and traditional pruning from the Salinas area.

Speaking of new releases, Bodegas Santa Catalina premieres the innovative “Mary Rose”, a blanc de noir of monastrell variety. Bodegas Pinoso will present the new look for its ecological collection “Diapiro”. And Bocopa will debut its first dealcoholized wine “Marina Alta 0.0” here to complete its extensive collection and constant experimentation.

As for new styles, Shukhrat Khakimov & Viticultores will present a renewed style in their wines from the Alicante mountains after their first vintages: new elaborations and selection of plots. The winery Casa Balaguer will present new vintages of its biodynamic and natural wines, also with native varieties, and Finca Collado maintains its its recuperation of local varieties: bobal, merseguera, malvasía.

In the “artisan” area, Pepe Mendoza Casa Agrícola and Bodegas Riko will present their award-winning wines and some surprise sweet wines, something that Bodegas Fuego Lento will also debut. For his part, Enrique Mendoza presents his new vintages with his distributor.

Without a doubt, what represents this unique opportunity and an exclusive product in this entire edition of Barcelona Wine Week is the gathering of five Alicante fondillones brought by the Bocopa wineries, Colección de Toneles Centenarios, MG Wines, Santa Catalina del Mañán or Las Virtudes . The only natural vintage wine at the fair and with a limited production due to its aging times.

This wine will also be the protagonist of one of the “tasting sessions” organized by the fair. It will be on Tuesday the 6th at 1:30 p.m. under the title “Historic Alicante Cooperage: The sleep of Fondillón” and which will feature Ferrán Centelles as a speaker.

https://www.barcelonawineweek.com/activity/toneleria-historica-alicantina-el-reposo-del-fondillon/

La entrada Alicante DOP at Barcelona Wine Week 2024 se publicó primero en Vinos Alicante.

WiM is a program launched in 2008 by the European wine sector to demonstrate its social responsibility in the fight against the abusive consumption of alcohol and its detrimental effects on society and to promote a sustainable wine culture through moderate consumption as a part of a healthy lifestyle.

The program is tailor-made for each culture and each country where it is presented in order to adapt its messages and therefore, be more effective. Coordinated by the Wine in Moderation association, based in Brussels, and made up of organizations from 16 countries around the world, the program has an extensive network of collaborators who share the values of WiM and contribute with their activity to communicate them to consumers and to the whole of society.

Alicante joins this initiative and will incorporate the message of moderate consumption in its tastings, training activities, as well as in its advertising communications.

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The weather forecasts for this week (with possible episodes of heavy rains) have forced the postponement of the event organized by Alicante Wines scheduled for June 1 at the studios of the Ciudad de la Luz.

After 4 years of cancellation due to the pandemic, the event which has been taking place since 2016, was finally rescheduled in a new location. But the fact of organizing it outdoors has been conditioned by the weather alerts of the AEMET (Spanish Meteorology Statal Agency).

Tickets purchased may be retained until the new date of the event or returned through the procedure established by the ticket sales platform (woutick!) that will communicate with customers directly.

It is the intention of Alicante Wines to convene it again this year without weather alerts, which will be announced on the Alicante DOP Wines social networks and website.

La entrada Winecanting Luz postponed se publicó primero en Vinos Alicante.

The Alicante DOP Wines have been celebrating the summer party called Winecanting for over 12 years, the last one being in 2019. In 2020, the event had to be canceled due to the pandemic.

This time it will be on Thursday, June 1, starting at 8:00 p.m., at the central square of the Ciudad de la Luz – Alicante´s City of Light, the digital district that houses the city´s film studios.

There, 24 PDO Alicante wineries will present all their novelties to the people of Alicante, in a festive atmosphere that is also complemented by local food stalls. In this case, Embutidos Rico de Pinoso, the Campo d’Elx Vaqueria, Coquería de Dora and Aperitivos Gisbert that will present a selection of traditional pickled foods and gildas.

The wineries present will be: Bocopa, Bodegas Alejandro, Bodegas Riko, Bodegas Pinoso, Casa Balaguer, Colección de Toneles Centenarios, Cup la Muntanya, Gandía Plá, Finca Collado, Francisco Gómez, Heretat de Cesilia, Ortigosa, Las Virtudes, Masos, Mendoza, MG Wines, Pepe Mendoza Casa Agrícola, Santa Catalina del Mañán, Shukhrat Khakimov, Sierra Norte, Sierra de Cabreras, Vinos de Algueña, Volver and Xaló.

Another change this year is the organization of the tastings and all access will be digitalized on the platform available through the DOP´s the official website, https://vinosalicantedop.org/winecantingluz/?lang=en

To facilitate access, free parking areas have been set up and there will also be free round-trip bus shuttles from the central Plaza de Luceros, in the south quadrant and in front of the tobacconist’s from 7:15 p.m.

The Winecanting events over the years and have taken place in different venues such as the MARQ gardens and the Port of Alicante. This year´s location promises to be spectacular.

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