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Innovation and sustainability are integrated at the service of nature at winery Beronia Rueda, officially inaugurated today. The event was attended by local authorities, such as the Regional Minister for Agriculture and Livestock of the Junta de Castilla y León –Milagros Marcos Ortega; the Mayor of Rueda –María Dolores Mayo Magaz; the General Director of the Rueda Designation of Origin Regulatory Board –Santiago Mora Poveda; and the President of González Byass –Mauricio González-Gordon.
The beginning of Beronia’s journey in Rueda, one of the Spanish Designation of Origin with the greatest international projection, took place in 2015 with the launching of Beronia Verdejo. Three years later, this project has got its own winery, which will contribute to the long-term development of the area through the winery’s daily business with local vine growers. Additionally, the winery incorporates a series of innovative eco-design elements and possesses 65 hectares of its own vineyard, spread over two properties: La Perdiz and El Torreón, both planted in 2016.
A sustainable winery
The Beronia Rueda winery, designed by architect Gonzalo Tello, displays a functional design fully respectful to the local environment. Its thick concrete walls and the partial burial of the production area –at less than five meters underground– cause a low thermal inertia between the interior and exterior of the winery, ensuring a constant temperature that is highly valuable for the storage and preservation of the white wines.
The layout of the cellars also allows the use of natural light through their large windows: there is a LED lighting system and a number of sensors that adjust the intensity inside according to the natural light pouring from the outside. In addition, the winery has a biomass boiler, where all the pruning waste is used to generate hot water and heating.
Another priority from the designers was water saving, which is accomplished by reusing rainwater collected in a tank outside and subsequently purified. In addition, part of the irrigation system of the vineyard is buried, which adds greater efficiency to this process.
Two properties, two worlds
Both Beronia Rueda vineyards have different agronomic characteristics that ensure a great oenological variability. Finca El Torreón, whose soil is rich in mud from the Duero river and limestone streaks, adds minerality to the wine. Similarly, Finca La Perdiz, which houses the winery too, has 25 hectares of vines, of which 5.5 are structured according to conventional espalier conduction systems, sprawl in Y and vertical axes. These arrangements benefits the vineyard in different ways and result in high expression wines made from unique blends.
Wine avantgarde
The winery, with installations equipped with the latest technology, combines tulip-shaped concrete and stainless steel tanks, two noble materials used for the fermentation of Beronia Verdejo Rueda. The stainless steel grants freshness to the wine, while concrete deposits provide it with warmth after making it rest on its lees.
These processes are further refined by the application of innovative techniques, such as film macerations and lee-based procedures, which contribute to the production of some complex and unique wines, such as Beronia Verdejo.