Wine Route – Contraviesa
Jesus Barquin and Francisco Rivas tell us something of the characteristics of Alpujarran wines: ”They share certain significant factors:
1. Their production is undertaken by Granadinos whose rural background and ancestry are steeped in family tradition.
2. The owners have direct control over the cultivation of their vineyards and production in their winerys.
They also share the fact that that their vineyards are all situated at high altitude (1.000. m.) on steep shaley slopes and exposed to the influence of the Mediterranean, just 10.K. distant.”
The route:
The winery Barranco Oscuro is just a quarter of an hour’s drive from the Alqueria, up the hills into the Contraviesa. It’s a pretty place and produces some of the best quality and best known wines of the region. Its creator, Manolo Valenzuela is a pioneer of organic wine production in the Alpujarra and his red wines and cava are particularly noteworthy. His passion for organic cultivation has inspired not a few of his neighbours to follow his lead and cultivate their vines and make wine with as few chemical additives as possible. Manolo is very congenial company and his great conversation over a few copas never fails to entertain his friends and admirers. Tel: 00 34 958 343066.
Just before Barranco Oscuro you’ll see the winery Bodega los Barrancos, clearly visible on the left hand side of the main road. The winery was orginally based on cooperative lines to bring together a number of producers in the area. However, although a good idea in principle, the cooperative never really ‘cooperated’ and was not a success. The venture was then sold to wine merchants Peter Hilgard and his wife Isabel de Olmo, who came from Germany to buy wines in the Alpujarra. Their winemaster,Cesar Ortega, lovingly cultivates 8 hectares at an altitude of 1.250.m. Their traditional wine (first produced in 2002) is ‘Corral de Castro’. Tel: 00 34 958 768044/ mobile 00 34 686 387550.
The largest winery in the Contraviesa, with 30 hectares of vineyards, is Cuatro Vientos. Francisco Javier Molina Castillo is winemaster and Technical Director and he has been responsible for the continuity, maintenance, and high quality of production in spite of changes of ownership. These high quality producing, well husbanded vineyards are a joy to behold, and the views south to the Mediterranean and north to the Sierra Nevada are quite spectacular. There is also an inn, a restaurante, museum, and of course the wine cellars.
Nearby, at the crossroads to Murtas and Turon there is a cheese ‘factory’ La Venta del Chaleco, built on the site of an old wayside inn. Hand made local cheeses are its speciality. From here there is an asphalted track that leads up to the summit of the Cerrajon de Murtas – the highest peak of the Contraviesa range. The diversion is well worth it, the views are some of the best in Andalucia!
From Murtas we carry on to the village of Jorairator where there is a museum dedicated to all aspects of life in the Alpujarra. It comprises an eclectic and unique collection of artifacts representing the domestic and agricultural history of the people of the Alpujarra. It is housed in the old family home of its creator, the lawyer Pepe Jimenez Tovar, who has artfully recreated scenes to demonstrate the old school, the printing press, and the barber’s shop. Perhaps the best thing about the museum is the delightful lady who shows us around.
From Jorairator let’s go on to Ugijar where, just a kilometre from the town, we’ll find the winery Dominio Buena Vista. The owner, Juan Palomar a north American surgeon whose antecendents came from Ugijar, exports his wines to the USA. He has been working on the project for some eight years and has now a fully up and running, modern and attractive winery. On his 10 hectares his specialities include Californian and Chilean Chardonnay and Viogner. Tel: 00 34 958 767254.
It never ceases to suprise one, the dedication and love that is invested in these vineyards. They are the only ones where the land is worked by mules or small chain tracked tractors (what we call ‘mechanical mules).
Other wineries where traditional methods are used are the Bodega Garcia de Verdevique, worked by Antonio Garcia and his son, and the Bodega Bernadino – both in the municipality of Castaras.
We return to our own winery at the Alqueria de Morayma; our 38 hectares of organically cultivated vines, using methods that can be traced back to when the Arabs lived and worked on these lands. All our wines are produced for our restauarants; here at the Alqueria and at the Mirador de Morayma in the Albaicin in Granada, and of course for our guests, to take away with them a memory of the views from the terraces, the vineyards and the mountains. Nature in all its glory.
