BAR CODE IS USEFUL IN SANTALBA

SANTALBA team continue innovating in every way surrounding the world of Rioja quality wine, of course maintaining the traditional character that they always give to their wines.

So, thinking to close wine to younger people, SANTALBA has decided to implement in collaboration with A.E.C.O.C. (Association of Manufacturers and Distributors in Spain), a pioneer  smartphone application that reads the bar code in some wine labels, and allows to get information about the wine, the technical card, the pairing, etc...

The mobile application developed is called "eScan" and allows consumers to obtain information  capturing the bar code printed on the back label  with the smartphone. So far, the service provides information and products from other international companies like Danone, Eroski, Pepsico and Central Lechera Asturiana, besides Bodegas Santalba.

Jordi Mur, A.E.C.O.C. CEO has said that "eScan is an example of the great quality offered by the traditional bar code and its enormous potential in combination with mobile technology". He added that "this is the way to get the online communication between businesses and consumers, offering advantages to both. The enterprises hav the opportunity to communicate directly with 10 million potential consumers, while consumers can get good information, truthful  from the source wherever you are".

Laura Ijalba, head of the Finance and Marketing Department at SANTALBA has helped to implement "eScan" in her winery. She has said that "the application also offers advantages in terms of marketing, allowing consumers easy access to specials, recipes, pairings and information about SANTALBA wines".

The development of "eScan" has been made possible by a partnership between the companies SANTALBA, A.E.C.O.C. and Scanbuy, which has adapted the application called "bidi" for smartphones "enabling the reading of the traditional bar code and giving access to product information provided".

THE "GUARDAVIÑAS"

Do you know what´s a "guardaviñas" in spanish? We're not talking about a person, but a rural building. Since the late nineteenth century, farmers in La Rioja have raised a kind of huts made with stones and with many utilities in their daily work in the vineyards. It is a circular structure with vertical walls and converging at a central point by a dome. Some, the biggest, have an opening at the top of the dome in order to let out the smoke when they cooked inside.

The "guardaviñas", also called "chozos" in spanish, were used as shelter during the cold winter, shaded in the summer,  as a storehouse for winegrowing tools, and even they were an burglar alarma because if there were a "guardaviñas", could be one person inside. Normally, a tree was planted right next door, to enhance the shadow over the hut during the summer and to tie the animals while the winegrower was resting inside. The "guardaviñas" were built with the stones founded plowing in vineyards, mostly pieces of sandstone, so typical and common in this part of La Rioja.

Anyway, two weekends ago riding our mountain bikes my brother an i were surprised by a rainfall so typical in this season. Fortunately, the stronger it was raining we saw a "guardaviñas" on the vineyard next to the path and we do not hesitate to shelter inside. Then, although we had seen it so many times, we really realized that  when there were no cars, no tractors and when winegrowers spent lot of hours working in the vineyards, these "guardaviñas" offered them an important role: a rudimentary but necessary shelter to adverse situations.

Raining outside, we took our sandwiches and we ate relatively comfortable sitting on some rocks inside. The while we spent in that beautiful hut, we appreciated that the current owner had kept it so clean and well maintained. We want to congratulate to all those winegrowers who have now a "guardaviñas" in their vineyards, preserved and well maintained. After all, the "guardaviñas" or "chozos" are a symbol for Rioja wine.

ART IN THE AGEING ROOM

Today we will show you the Aging Room.

The barrels are French and American oak. This room is underground so that keeps the best temperature for the wine.

They are piled up in the traditional way with wood wedges and as a curiosity, you can see a small hole in the front part of the barrel.

That is to decant (change the wine from one barrel to another) the wine in the traditional way as well. Each 6 months we do this process in Bodegas Santalba and in another post we will explain you these kinds of peculiar methods that we practice in our winery. That is the difference in Bodegas Santalba, the quality is very important for us, so we care all the details that make the wine better.

Also you can show this glass in the aging room,

It has a special meaning, the development that the wine is having during its life.

Firstly you can see a grape, that is the beginning … The Tempranillo grape, the most typical grape variety in our region, D.O.Ca. Rioja.

From that grape we obtain the young wines with its typical colour, violet, purple…

After that, when the time goes by, the wines in the ageing process have a different colour, red and ruby.

Finally, the wines with a long ageing process have a russet colour and you can show it in the outer part.