Clusters, barrels and bottles of solidarity

The fight against climate change, research against diseases such as cancer or support for biodiversity are issues that concern us as a society and to which no social sphere is foreign. Neither is the wine sector. For years now, Various Aragonese wineries carry out collaborative initiatives with organizations from various fields to support them in their projects.

Wineries such as El Grillo y la Luna, Tempore, Bodegas Aragonesas, Bodegas Pirineos or Edra They provide, through what they do best, quality wine and also through their commitment, work and experience in various causes chosen for different reasons. And, in many cases, due to its connection with the idiosyncrasy of each winery.

Thus, every time a consumer purchases these wines, they will not only be getting a good product, but they will be contributing to the development of a good cause. And so, undoubtedly, the wine tastes even better.

The recent Covid-19 pandemic meant a surge in solidarity and everyone's support and recognition of the health sector for its work, something they did from El Grillo y la Luna; or from Bodegas Aragonesas, with its 'I will resist', a wine that has the name of one of the messages that resonated most during those hard times. However, the support of the wine sector for this type of causes is something that has already lasted over time, with initiatives such as the support for Quebrantahuesos by Bodegas Edra, which has been around for almost five years and has the will to continue over time. ; or the Diviñas Club, which Eugenia Blanco started six years ago.

«We are going to use this money to finance projects that we have underway. They are initiatives that are of interest. That is to say, that have the capacity to provide knowledge and that have not had external financing, so they need additional funding," explained Ángel Lanas, scientific director of the Aragon Health Research Institute, which received support from Bodegas Aragonesas.

As time goes by, more and more wineries develop this type of solidarity initiatives. Thus, Tempore was recently added to the longest-lived ones, with its Iconic, which materialized the will of those responsible to carry out a solidarity initiative, in this case to support cancer research. Also Bodegas Pirineos, which has chosen to support a research project from the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, belonging to the Higher Center for Scientific Research, about climate refuges in the Pyrenees.

The wine sector faces a harvest for this year 2023 with a certain uncertainty given the climatic circumstances of the previous months. From the protected Denominations of Origin they plan to collect around 114 million kilos of grapes compared to the 130 million kilos that were collected in last year's campaign. However, this will not be an obstacle for the sector to continue maintaining its desire to help various charitable causes or to support lines of research that, in addition, can result in improvements to its production. The sector will continue to maintain its willingness to help various charitable causes or support lines of research that can also result in improvements to its production.

The recent Covid-19 pandemic unleashed a wave of cooperation, solidarity and help to which no sector of society was immune. Nor was the primary one, which continued to guarantee that essential foods were not lacking on supermarket shelves. And other agents in this field who, without probably being so essential, also made their contributions were not left out. This is the case of the wine sector. There were many Aragonese wineries that collaborated, in one way or another, to try to alleviate the effects of the pandemic.

Example of this was Aragonese Wineries, which made a donation of 10.000 euros from the sales of its emblematic wine 'Revertiré' to the Health Research Institute of Aragon.

"This wine is not only a tribute to all those people who helped fight Covid-19 every day, but also an example of the commitment that the winery maintains with social development," Bodegas Aragonesas pointed out. «Since its creation, it has had a great interest in society and we have collaborated with many causes. More will come, since the winery will continue with the same spirit of collaboration," stressed Enrique Chueca, its manager.

'Resistencia' is a young wine, from the 2019 vintage, made with Grenache and Syrah. It has high aromatic intensity with fruity and floral nuances.

On the other hand, the donation that the El Grillo y la Luna winery made to the health centers in the Huesca and Barbastro sector amounted to nearly 4.000 bottles. A total of 36 hospitals and health centers in the province were able to enjoy the wines from the 12 Lunas range, produced by this Somontano winery. With this they wanted to recognize "the great work" done by the health personnel.

"Thank you for always being close, for not letting your guard down and for fighting day after day, for each and every one of us," with this phrase, inscribed on a symbolic voucher, wanted the Calvo family and the entire El Grillo team and La Luna "thank the health community of all of Spain, in general, and Huesca, in particular, for the effort of all those days." They were "on the front line" and faced "with a lack of means" an "unprecedented crisis." «Our society will always be indebted to healthcare workers and this donation is a small sample of our recognition towards them. A group that we greatly respect and that we continue to support every day," they say.

female cause

«When the war broke out in Ukraine, we had a pending shipment of some boxes of wine to that country, which could not arrive, so we sell them here and donate the money to the Red Cross in Ukraine. That was the first solidarity action carried out by Bodegas Tempore, although, as Paula Yago, CEO of these facilities, located in Lécera, recalls, "we had been wanting to do a solidarity project for some time."

The "very good reception" of this initiative led Tempore, after "very hard" work, to launch a rosé wine on the market, Iconic, whose benefits, estimated at around 3.000 euros, will go to the Spanish Metastatic Breast Cancer Association. The benefits of Iconic will go to the Spanish Association of Metastatic Breast Cancer 

«In our winery almost 90% of the staff are women. For this reason, we wanted our project to have a female component and, if breast cancer is already a very difficult disease, metastatic cancer is even more so," says Paula Yago, who points out that from her winery they will try to maintain this type of initiatives “probably supporting different causes because there is a lot to do,” he says.

Iconic, of which 1.680 bottles were launched, of which around 200 remain to be sold in the winery itself, is a Grenache rosé wine, organic, sustainable and supportive. Its bottle is designed to have other uses after consuming the wine.

worried about the weather

But health is not the only area in which the wine sector has set its sights to lend a hand. Climate change, which is also a problem that directly affects production, It is another area that has received support from wine producers.

This is the case of Bodegas Pirineos, which a few weeks ago presented a collaboration agreement by which The Somontano winery will donate part of the profits obtained from the sales of its single varietals to the Higher Center for Scientific Research (CSIC) to contribute to the development of research aimed at identifying climatic refuges in the Pyrenees.

These climate refuges are places where plant species live that are more likely to survive during climate change situations like the current one. The main objective of the project developed by the CSIC, through its Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE), aims to know which topographic or biological varieties contribute to the creation of these refuges. «With this action we can return to the mountains a part of our work for their preservation and for the mitigation of climate change»

"This is a long-term alliance that reflects the winery's commitment to the preservation of a territory that gives it its name and in which it has been developing its activity for 30 years," said Silvia Arruego, managing director of Bodega Pirineos, who expressed his great satisfaction "for being able to return to the mountains a part of our work for their preservation and for the mitigation of climate change."

For approximately five years, Bodegas Edra, located in the Huesca town of Ayerbe, makes the Edra Quebrantahuesos. It is a Garnacha variety wine, grown organically. Part of the profits from the sales of its approximately 1.500 bottles go to the Quebrantahuesos Foundation. "The foundation has been carrying out collaborative initiatives for some time with companies committed to the territory and to the conservation of biodiversity and species and Edra fits perfectly into that profile, since they are a small winery that cultivates organically," explains José Antonio Gil, secretary of the Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture.

Although Edra's financial contribution contributes to the management of a feeder for these birds located in Aínsa, Gil gives even more importance to a somewhat more intangible aspect: "This initiative, which has been very well received from the beginning, gives us a lot of visibility and allows more people to become aware of the importance of conserving the territory and its biodiversity.

Both parties have the will to continue with this project in the coming years.

A divine club for women who love wine

Around 600 women belong to the Club Diviñas,an initiative launched by Eugenia Blanco, head of Wine Tourism at Bodegas Idrias, back in 2017, when the first Diviñas Women meeting was held in Zaragoza. An appointment, in solidarity, in which the profits were destined to the fight against cancer, and which brought together nearly 110 women interested in wine and in deepening their knowledge. That event was the starting signal for an initiative that was established to be celebrated every year.

So, in 2018, There were 180 attendees and in 2019, the third edition of this meeting brought together 200 women around a supportive glass of wine. Not even the pandemic, in 2020, interrupted the celebration of this meeting, which knew how to adapt to the circumstances and were able to toast through the screens. In 2021 and 2022, they returned to normal. Thus, during the VI Diviñas Women Meeting: #historiasdiviñasentornoalvino, four wines and three tapas and a very special sweet were tasted. 

That year, the three prominent women from the world of wine who shared their experiences in the sector were: Beatriz Martínez, communications director and co-owner of Bodegas Alodia, belonging to the Somontano Protected Designation of Origin, in Adahuesca; Pilar Salillas, general director and winemaker of Bodegas Lagravera, belonging to the Costers de Segre Protected Designation of Origin, in Alfarrás; and Esther Ibáñez, journalist specialized in wine, gastronomy, travel and regular contributor to local and national media, such as 'Condé Nast Traveler'.

new meeting

Eugenia Blanco is already preparing the celebration of the seventh Meeting of Divine Women, in 2023. The collection obtained throughout these years is more than 4.500 euros.

Along with this annual event, the Diviñas Club wants, in addition to spreading the culture of wine and its appreciation among women, be an open window where you can look out to learn about the work of women in the world of wine. A world that, in the opinion of Eugenia Blanco, has been incorporated much more quickly as a consumer than as producers or processors, although it is true that increasingly "there are more women in the sector who carry out jobs as winemakers, sommeliers, businesswomen or winemakers." .

Numerous proposals

To this end, they periodically carry out various activities such as talks, visits to wineries, tastings or meetings with women linked to the world of wine.

Being a woman, passionate and interested in the world of wine and being over 18 years old are the only requirements to belong to the Diviñas Club. the only female wine lovers club that exists in Aragon.

Source and Photography: Heraldo de Aragón