Femando Remirez de Ganuza is a visionary in Rioja. He has owned vineyards and shares in wineries for many years. To create his own winery, he recovered an ancient winery and moved it stone by stone to its present location. It was designed to produce only the highest-quality handmade wines through selection, selection, selection, and attention to even the smallest details (the favorite words of Femando). The process begins by using only old vines, selecting the best grapes to be harvested, and then further selecting only the best bunches from those grapes on the selecting tables. The process continues by choosing the best tanks during fermentation and the best barrels during maturation. This fanatical selection process results in only a fraction of the winery's total production, becoming the wine we know as Remirez de Ganuza. Vineyards are located in Samaniego, Rioja Alavesa. The winery owns 160.8 acres (67 ha), of which 72 acres (30 ha) of old vines are used. The vineyards are situated in the towns of Samaniego, Leza, Elciego, and Laguardia, all of which are in Rioja Alavesa. El Sotillo Vineyard: 26.4 acres (11 ha), north/south exposure, 33-year-old vines, 1,680 ft. (560 m) elevation, calcareous clay with gravel, 80% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano, 5% Garnacha, 5% Viura. Yield is 2.5 t/acre (6,000 kg/ha). Cultivation of the vines is done in the traditional vaso system. The vines are trained on two parallel wires to increase canopy size. The winery is experimenting with cepillado de las cepas (brushing of the vines). This is an old tradition of removing the dried strips of bark from the vines. This drastically reduces infestation of plagues and decreases substantially the need for pesticides. It is labor-intensive but rewarding. San Miguel Vineyard: 12 acres (5 ha), southern exposure, 45-year-old-vines, 1,650 ft (550 m) elevation, calcareous clay, very poor, 100% Tempranillo, 5,000 kg/ha yield, and traditional vaso system. Lagillos Vineyard: 16.8 acres (7 ha), southeast exposure, 72-year-old vines, 1,590 ft. (530 m) elevation, calcareous clay with small gravel, 75% Tempranillo, 10% Malvasia, 10% Graciano, 5% Garnacha, 1.87 t/acre (4,500 kg/ha) yield, traditional vaso system. Ermita y Cofrades: 16.8 acres (7 ha), 98-year-old-vines, very chalky soil with large, flat stones known as “lastras” of calcareous origins. 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano, 5% Viura/Malvasia. There are 16.8 acres (7 ha) more of old vines, in scattered small plots in the area. The soil is Calcareous clay with gravel. The climate is Continental with some Atlantic influences. Northern Rioja, which has the highest elevation in the province, is protected from harsh winds by the Sierra Cantabria Mountains which are to the north.
