Our HISTORY
Grape growing in Cariñena dates back to the 3rd century BC. The ancient Romans founded the city of Carae in the year 50 BC in an area where the local population had been mixing their wines with mead made from local honey.
By the Middle Ages, Aragon´s burgeoning wine industry was taken under the protection of local monasteries; vineyards accounted for over 50% of agricultural land in the 16th century. It is this considerable pedigree that attracted us as winemakers to the mountainous vineyards of Cariñena in Aragon.
We sought to create a wine that merged the best elements of Aragonese tradition and sustainable viticulture: which we named Castillo de Monseran: The Spanish new Classic.
“CARIÑENA GAVE ITS NAME TO THE CARIGNAN GRAPE, BUT TODAY THIS VARIETY HAS LARGELY BEEN REPLACED BY GARNACHA, KNOWN AS GRENACHE IN FRANCE AND MOST OTHER WINE – PRODUCING COUNTRIES ”
Jesús Prieto
Winemaker of Bodegas San Valero
What´s Cariñena?
You could say that our vineyards are spoilt. Planted at an average elevation of 550 metres above sea level, these superior plots benefit enormously from diurnal temperature variation. This refers to differences between day and night time temperature – cool nights help to preserve acidity and freshness in the grapes, as well as benefiting from a northern wind called “El Cierzo”.
The vines grow on some of the oldest and deepest soils in Cariñena: glacial and alluvial deposits lead to concentrated and deeply-coloured wines. We are working to established our sustainability program: avoidance of man-made pesticides – pests can be discouraged by “sexual confusion” pheromones – encouraging biodiversity and working with the local community is fundamental to Castillo de Monseran´s philosophy.