A SENTENCE THAT DESCRIBE US...

Today, we start our post with a great sentence from a very popular philosopher and enssayist, José Ortega y Gasset.

“Wine give brilliance to the countryside, excite the hearts, light the eyes and teach to the feet the dance”

( In Spanish; ”El vino da brillantez a las campiñas, exalta los corazones, enciende las pupilas y enseña a los pies la danza.”) We will show you that everything is here, in Bodegas Santalba.

Fist of all, “The wine give brillance to the countryside..”

Look at this photo, we have took it this morning and it is our organic vineyard Viña Hermosa, awsome.



Viña Hermosa Vineyard - Bodegas Santalba



This vineyard is really special for us, because its grapes, our concern for the respect for the enviroment, the wine that we obtain from these vines… lots of reasons that make it extraordinary.

Wines with heart - Bodegas Santalba

Following with the sentence, “…excite the hearts”, the wine organic Santalba is obtained from this vineyard, is the one with the highest level of Resveratrol in the world, and as you know is a healthy component for humans to prevent heart illness and some other more. Also, the reason for our Blog’s tittle… The vineyard care with natural and organic products makes a  free toxic waste wine.

““…light the eyes” Always is a good moment to enjoy a glass of wine with friends, family, work-mates. Wine is always linked with satisfaction and happyness. Any moment is perfect to open a bottle of wine and say cheers!!!

Finally, “…teach to the feet the dance” there are not words to explain this part of the sentece so i’ll finísh wishing you a nice day!!!



ABOUT RESVERATROL

Talking about resveratrol, there are  magazines, television programs and  Internet articles that in our opinion, lead to confusion in some cases. For example, some scientist in Harvard University claim that resveratrol is the Holy Grail against aging. Other institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, the Salk Institute and the University of California, say that resveratrol is almost an elixir for youth. Is it to much?. In our humble and relying exclusively on what our parents have always said, before our grandfathers and our great-grandparents even before, we believe that natural food is always good. If this is red wine, is a source of health.And if wine is taken in moderation, is a source of life.

         

But let's go with something more of science: David Sinclair, professor in Harvard University and world-renowned specialist in aging battle, has worked for some years searching for substances that someday effectively delay the human aging. His studies have proved that resveratrol activates certain genetic pathways or "regulatory genes" that exist in all forms of life, protecting the organisms in a way that makes them more healthy and probably will prolong their life.

The key, in our opinion and also given by Sinclair when he says "It´s not important living longer. The really important is feeling as 60 years old when you are 90". Can you imagine it?. Great!

Resveratrol is a natural substance in the  polyphenols group, which is generated in vegetables. It is found in peanuts, blueberries and cranberries, as well as spruce, eucalyptus and other plants (not all edible), but mostly found in the skin of red grapes. Thus, red wine is rich in resveratrol, but white wine also has a certain amount. Many articles have said that resveratrol in the wine protect against heart disease, talking about the famous "French paradox". That paradox tells about French, who have lots of cheese, foie gras and other foods high in fats in their diet, but still they have lower cholesterol levels and suffer fewer heart attacks than average. Presumably  this is because in their diet they also enjoy more red quality wine than the rest of the world.

Some scientists have demonstrated that resveratrol has neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant  properties, helps to protect against cardiovascular diseases and even some scientists have theorized about the possible use of resveratrol to treat some cancers.

Should we give our grandchildren resveratrol capsule every morning in order to get 100 years old without seeing a doctor? Should we buy a bottle of pills and take resveratrol just now?

For the first question, nobody knows the answer. But about the latter, the response according to many scientists and  our logic thoughts is clear that NO. For the moment, we prefer to enjoy a glass of high quality red wine (SANTALBA wine if it´s possible), because we do not know if we will live longer, but sure we´ll live better. Of course, always in moderation.

More information in http://www.santalba.com 

FROST, COLD AND SNOW IN THE VINEYARD

The cold, heavy frosts and polar winds have hit La Rioja these days, can cause significant damage to some plants. For example, citrus and all plants from tropical and subtropical climates are very sensitive to cold. In the case of the vines, depends of the season when the frost is suffered, to be a serios problem with no solution, or to be something quite beneficial.

It is said that there is a frost when the temperature (measured one meter above the ground) is under 0° C, although for our winegrower standpoint, frost is the situation where the air temperature is down to a value (up or down than 0° C) that kills or causes serious damages to the vines or branches.
Frosts often occur during the winter season, although in our Rioja Alta area can also occur in autumn (called early frost) and spring (late frost).

These frosts, the later ones, are the most dangerous for the vines, because the plants are out the resting stage, they are maturing and the very down temperatures may affect plant growth and vital functions, such as flowering or grapes ripening.

 

                                            (Snowy vineyard in SANTALBA)

 

On the other hand, the winter frosts as we have suffered these past few days cause a great beneficial effect for disinfection subsoil, for bacteria removal and even for the elimination of microorganisms accumulated during previous warm stages.

Furthermore, the snow  accumulation over the vineyard soil is a very gradual water supply (if the thaw is gradual and not sudden) and very important for the rest of the year.