Parajes del Valle Orange Wine

Parajes del Valle is a bright and exciting winery that is filled with the kind of energy that usually fills sports stadiums and concert venues. The team is lead by Maria Jover who is only 28 years old but who’s resume is more like a passport, stamped by some of Spain’s most impressive and dynastic wineries including Vegas Sicilia. Her hunger for knowledge and her drive to spin that knowledge into wines that people reach for over and over again, is something to take awe in. 

Her dedication to organic farming, something she sees as producing high quality grapes, has remained unwavering in the face of industrialization. In Jumilla where the majority of her plantings are there has been a tradition called the “Terraje system” which is a practice where farmers will rent out vines for a 7% return of their yield at the end of the harvest season. As the landowners age and the idea of irrigation and the monetary side of the wine business becomes more attractive in their minds, Maria has pushed back and has focused on maintaining the historic tradition and making sure that the vines in the area are farmed sustainably. 

Their orange wine is 100% Macabeo from the region of Manchuela, a large DO in central Spain. The soil there is composed of clay on limestone and the average height of the vineyards are between 600-700m above sea level. All of the grapes are hand harvested and sit on the skins to ferment in concrete tanks for fifteen days using only indigenous yeasts. Minimal sulphur was added to aid in the fermentation process and the wine rests in the same concrete tanks until it is bottled.