Come Celebrate with Vivanco at VanWineFest 2018

Bodegas Vivanco

Vivanco Winery is located in Briones, a privileged enclave in La Rioja Alta, on the foothills of the Sierra de Cantabria and on the banks of the River Ebro in Spain. It is an area with a mild microclimate and extraordinary chalky-clay soils.

Around the winery we find the Finca El Cantillo, whose name comes from the large number of boulders found on the ground. Tempranillo is the fundamental variety, but not the only one. In this vineyard we can also find other grape varieties that we use in our wines: Graciano, Garnacha, Mazuelo, Viura, Malvasía, etc.

The underground winery is functional and aesthetically pleasing. It was built underground in order to remove as little as possible of the vineyard surface area and to minimize the environmental impact in favour of preserving the landscape. By building the winery underground, was also achieved the right temperature and moisture —naturally balanced throughout the year— essential for properly preserving and ageing wine in oak barrels or vats.

The viti-vinicultural and pioneering spirit of Rafael Vivanco is reflected both in his wines and in the experiments and research he carries out with different growing and winemaking methods, in the use of minority grape varieties and in wood ageing in oak from different provenances.

A Family and a Passion

The history of our family has always been linked to wine. Well, not since always. We can say that all this dream of four generations began 100 years ago, when our great-grandfather, Pedro Vivanco González, began to produce the grapes from a small vineyard that had the family in Alberite (La Rioja). Not was easy produce wine in those times for a small winemaker. And less to sell it. Technical resources did not exist and the illusion hiding all that reality was clear. They were difficult, but also crucial times.

Our grandfather Santiago continued with that small business that my great-grandfather had started. Our grandfather was very hardworking, but we have always said that it was our grandmother and his wife, Felisa Paracuellos, which encouraged him to prosper. She started it all somehow. Primarily by spirit and decision-making capacity. She was encouraged that our father, Pedro Vivanco Paracuellos, to study. And she was that fed the flame of the Wine Culture that was gradually spreading by the family.

What about our father. A man humble, close, conciliator, that began with 14 years handing out came with a bike by all Logroño. Then he climbed onto the truck and toured throughout La Rioja and its surrounding provinces. Between curbs and travel he loved wine. And decided that if I was not studying not it could devote to his passion. Went to Requena. He studied oenology. He traveled the world. And he began to collect all kinds of objects related to the wine. Out of respect. For pure devotion and enthusiasm. The business grew. We bought some vineyards, we started to bottling, to raise barrels to thrive…

The wine it had given us all. We had the obligation to pay you back somehow. And that obligation became this today is Vivanco and dream that was born in 2004. A place where wine and its culture are at the service of all. We could have dedicated to something else. But it was the wine that conquered us, that excited us, the engine of our lives. Today, us, Santiago and Rafael, we can only thank you and invite you to share our passion.

The Winery

Our wines are born in the vineyard. That’s where they truly acquire their personality. That of the terroir, the landscape and what happens in it for an entire year. That is why when we began building the winery, we had a clear idea of what we wanted. The process was to be respectful with the grape with the aim of enhancing its qualities. And that is what we did.

All our grapes are picked by hand and placed in small tubs or crates to prevent the berries from breaking and ensure remain whole.

It is perhaps one of the most novel aspects of our winery. A cold room where the grapes are cooled for 24 hours to lower their temperature to 3 °C. What for? To extract the grapes’ colour and aromas in a less aggressive way in the tank, thereby retaining all their personality. In a way, we create an infusion of grapes and must; what we call cold maceration.

Vinification in small French oak vats

Another of our hallmarks. Oak vats have been used to make wine throughout history. It is a fine material that promotes the exchange of oxygen through the pores of the wood, allowing wine to be more honest, showing all its aromas. Wood, also acts as a thermal insulator, allowing for delayed fermentation, so that everything takes place at a slower pace, ensuring greater fruit presence.

The Wines We Will Be Pouring at the International Festival Tasting Room

Vivanco Viura – Temp Blanco – Maturana Blanca 2016 – Pale-yellow with green hues; clean and bright. To the nose it proves expressive, intense and complex, with aromas of citrus fruit, green apples and white peaches, underscored by elegant floral hints. Very fresh and well-balanced in the mouth, enticing one to drink and enjoy.
Vivanco Crianza 2013 – Bright cherry-red. Intense aromas of fresh, ripe, red fruit, with spicy and liquorice notes, accompanied by elegant toasty and smoky hints. Fresh and sweet in the mouth, with a very well-balanced, persistent and elegant mouthfeel.
Vivanco Reserva 2011 – Intense, purple-red, with a brick rim evincing barrel ageing This wine offers aromas of cinnamon and sage surrounded by fruity notes of cherries and blackberries underscored by a mineral component. Deep, and ripe on the palate, with a velvety, silky, enveloping mouthfeel.
Colección Vivanco 4 Varietales 2014 – Very intense garnet-cherry red. Powerful, complex aroma, with abundant ripe red and dark fruit, and well-integrated find wood. There are also elegant mineral notes, spices, toffee and liquorice. Very expressive in the mouth, with a silky, fresh, tasty, intense mouthfeel, leaving a long aftertaste, complex and elegant.
Colección Vivanco 4 Varietales Dulce de Invierno 2014 – Pale-orange with green hues; clean and bright. Very pleasant intense aromas of candied fruit, dried peaches, orange confit and quince jelly, all of it enveloped in elegant floral and cocoa notes. Sensual and delicate in the mouth, with a delicate, fresh, well-integrated fruity sweetness that makes it a long, tasty and pleasant wine.