Binario "Skin Contact" Garnacha Blanco | Rioja, Spain

100% Organic and Biodynamic Orange Garnacha Blanco from Rioja.

The first orange wine to be presented (and initially rejected!) for a DO accreditation. Now it is still one of the very few orange wines from Rioja.

Navarrsotillo, founded by brothers Andres and Ramon Serrano, is fully committed to Organic and Biodynamic agriculture in the DOs of Rioja and Navarra. In 1998 theirs was the second vineyard in Rioja to convert to organic growing.

They now have 70ha of vines in Rioja across 12 plots and 40ha in Navarra where the biggest at 18ha was the first to be run as bio-dynamic. The vineyards are located in Calahorra (Rioja Baga) and Andosilla (Navarra) - though in different regions they are just 10k across the DO divide.

The Binario label is run by sisters Ruth de Andrea (winemaker, who studied as a chemist at Sheffield University) and Ana de Andrea (manager) who work very closely – selecting grapes and renting facilities – with the Serrano family.

Hand-picked at night to retain freshness, a majority of the fruit is destemmed into inox where the juice has skin contact (as a red would) for 7-10 days. One pump-over per day is used to keep the cap fresh and maintain a natural temperature. After a further 10 days fermentation on the skins, the wine was racked to stainless steel tanks where it naturally finished the primary and secondary fermentation. There were no additives except the SO2 allowable within Demeter Biodynamic guidelines.

The vines range from 20-40 years old and are cultivated using organic matter, both made from animal manure and pruned grapevine shoots, following all biodynamic principles and incorporating their homemade infusions and composts. These traditional farming practices help create nitrogen in the soils which lends for healthy regeneration and growth.

The climate is continental, heavily influenced by the Mediterranean; the soils are of limestone, clay and sand.