Episode 2
Transcript – Episode 2: Soil for survival: the key to Jumilla's resilient vineyards
The Old Vine Conference Podcast.
Belinda Stone: Thank you very much for joining us. I am Belinda Stone and this is our fifth Old Vine Conference Community workshop. Today we're talking about the role that soil plays in a vine's ability to grow old. We're very happy to see so many of you here today. This has actually been our most popular session.
With us today, we’ve got co-founder of the Old Vine Conference, Sarah Abbot MW, and she is joined by Carolina Martínez Origone, agricultural Engineer and general Secretary of the Conseco Regulador of Jumilla in Spain.
The Conseco Regulador of Jumilla are the generic body members of the Old Vine Conference and we were introduced to them by our amazing regional ambassador for Spain, Anna Harris Noble, who is also here with us today. I'm going to hand over now to Sarah, who will introduce the workshop. She'll introduce you to Carolina and set the scene. Carolina will then present Soil for survival, the key to Jumilla's resilient vineyards, after which we will be taking your questions. So with that, I will pass you over to Sarah.
Sarah Abbott MW: Thank you, Belinda. Hello, everybody. Lovely to see so many familiar faces. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sarah Abbot. I'm a Master of Wine and I'm one of the co-founders of the nonprofit Old Vine Conference. The aim of the conference is to shine a light on the many amazing projects nurturing old vines and old vine heritage all around the world, as well as to amplify the impact of those different projects and ultimately to create and really change the global market for wine so that the value of great old vineyards is actually reflected in the way that their wines are sold and priced so that we can keep more of these really valuable genetic heritage, genetic resource, as well as qualitative resource actually in the ground. The Jumilla region, as I'm sure you know, is an important DO within the region of Murcia.
So on the Mediterranean coast of southeastern Spain, it's a really elemental terroir. On paper, it looks like it may well be too…it's hard yards for vines to grow in this area, but as we all know, the great wines always come from this knife edge of a struggle for vines. Carolina is going to give you more information about the terroir of the region, so I won't go into too much detail now just to say that really, I think Jumilla is a really great microcosm, almost of what's happening in Spain in that this is a region that was previously known, even 20 years ago, it was always being written of as the source of great value wine in Spain. Big, bold wines, principally from Monastrell. Lots of references to rustic wines, high alcohol, deep color. And actually, one of the reasons for the survival of this region was that after phylloxera, it became a sort of a source of stand-in wine for the lost production of France.
In the last, I would say, 20 years, though, it's become really emblematic of this enormous resurgence of confidence and aspiration within Spain. And it's now one of the most exciting, thrilling wine regions of Spain, I think, especially for Monastrell. And there has been more of a return to this very old vine, Monastrell, despite the increase in international plantings that did happen in this region in the 1990s.
So we talk about a vine's ability to grow old. Actually, what I see when I research and learn about old vineyards from all around the world is it's a kind of accidental serendipity. I mean, it's a kind of piece of luck when these intersections of place, history, variety and soil kind of come together. And then you look back and realize, oh, actually, we've ended up with this really inadvertently valuable and precious thing that a new generation is now working with to make really great wines.
So I will hand over now to Carolina, who, as Belinda says, is the secretary and director of the Jumilla DO. And thank you to the DO and for supporting the old vine conference. It really means a lot to us that you're here today and that you're part of our membership. So thank you.
Carolina Martínez Origone: Thank you, Sarah. Thank you, Belinda. And thank you, Anna. Good morning, all. I'm Carolina Martinez Origone, the secretary of the DO Jumilla. I would like to thank the Old Vine conference for the opportunity to be here at this seminar, to be part of the conference, to showcase our amazing region and of course, the great heritage we enjoy in Jumilla of old vines in our very distinct terroir. I don't want to be very long, and I hope I can give my presentation quickly so we can get to the questions/answers part. I would like to go over some topics which I think are very relevant to get to know more about Jumilla first, just where we are located.
For those of you who don't know very much about Jumilla, we are located in the southeastern corner of Spain, very close to the Mediterranean Sea, yet inland. So the influence of the Mediterranean I will tell you about is quite important. It comprises two territories in Spain, the Albacete and Murcia region. And there are seven towns which are part of the DO. As Sarah mentioned, the history of our region goes way back in time. There's confirmation that viticulture was somewhat present even 5000 years ago, with some archaeological remains of grape seeds, Vitis vinifera, that were found near our town, which of course, is not proof that they were already making wine at that point, but of course that grapes were already present in the area. And therefore the different civilizations, from the Iberians to the Romans to the Muslims and so on, well, they planted and they grew and they made wine with these amazing grapes. Over centuries, as I said, vineyards were already present in our region. We had to go to the late 19th century, early 20th century, to really see the boom of the wine industry in the region. It was with the Phylloxera plague, as Sarah mentioned, that Jumilla really emerged as a very important actor in the wine production sectors in Europe. This is because the plague of Phylloxera didn't really hit our region, thanks to our very unique climatic and soil and vineyard management properties. So Jumilla was like an oasis for vineyards during that period.
The DO was officially established in 1966. So we are almost 60 years old, which makes us one of the oldest DO's in Spain. And as already mentioned, over the past 25 years, there has been a very clear paradigm shift in the concept of the wine sector in Jumilla, from bulk, rustic, very alcoholic wines to high quality bottled wines. And now I would like to just give you an overview of the very distinct terroir we enjoy here in our area. As I said we are close to the Mediterranean, yet inland, so we have influence from the Mediterranean in terms of landscape. What you see when you come to Jumilla is that we are a high altitude plateau sitting between La Mancha plain, and the more mild Mediterranean coast, which is only 100 km away. Our landscape is marked by rolling hills and wide valleys that provide a variety of sites for vines and very different ranges of altitude, slopes and sun exposures. These mountains are mainly of limestone material, so this geology is somewhat present in almost all of our soils. There are important rivers that pass by our region, so what's really marked here is the aridity of the landscape, a lack of water, and very scarce rainfall.
So, yes, the climate, as I said, is very marked by these arid conditions, a lack of rainfall and high temperatures, especially in the summer. Yet we have continental influence as well, being at this high Altitude plateau, which is what makes our vines thrive during the summer period, where the diurnal differences in temperature is very marked. It's also a windy region, and this all helps to keep the vineyard very healthy during the growing and ripening period. This is the region of Jumilla, and we're undertaking climatic zoning. We believe that in these times of climate change, we really need to have deep knowledge of our climate. And given the fact that the region has a large surface area, we have been studying the different climatic zones and the vineyard surfaces where they are located, to better understand and to anticipate where future plantings should be put. So, as you see here, we have five climatic zones. The majority of the surface of the vineyard is planted in Zone C, which accounts for 33% of the surface planted in Jumilla. And zone E is just the peaks, the mountain peaks. So it's not really relevant in terms of vineyards. But to give you the main factor that really makes this a different climatic zone is the altitude. So zone A would be at lower altitudes and with higher temperatures and more scarce rainfall, whereas zone D, as you can see, is at a higher latitude. Therefore, the temperatures are lower and the altitude higher.
Another aspect of our terroir, apart from landscape and climate, is our vineyard, which I'm going to delve into a little bit more further on. Overall we have 22,000 hectares of vineyard located between 400 and 1000 meters above sea level. In general, there is a big variety of slopes, sun exposures and soils, given the large amount of surface area we have. But something that is clear overall, is that the traditional bush vine is predominant, 75% of the vines are trained this way, bush or goblet style. There's no irrigation in the majority of the vineyard. The yields are some of the lowest in the world, with an average of 1.5 to 2.5 kilos per bush vine. And all vines cover an important part of the area, with at least 20% of the vineyard being at least 35 years old. This is a traditional plot in Jumilla, with the bush vines with the three arms. The pruning style is of three or four arms, and the very characteristic stony surface of limestone geology that covers the whole plateau. Ungrafted vineyards are very important in our region, although, of course, with time these vines are getting older and older and therefore being replaced. But ungrafted vines are an important heritage of the region because Phylloxera, as I said, didn't really hit the region very hard.
So we still have many ungrafted vines that were planted before the prohibition to plant ungrafted vines here in Spain. That came in in the 80s, and we have around 800 hectares of ungrafted vines with their original European rootstock. And what we call here in Spain, Piè franco. These are sometimes used with the acodo method to replace the empty spots in plots where these empty spots need to be… Well, to have another plant. Of course, Sarah mentioned Monastrell is, of course, our signature variety here in Jumilla. However, it's not the only one. We have around 16 varieties accepted and planted in our region. But Monastrell covers, as you can see, over 75% of the vineyard. Why is this? Because it's the best adapted, it's an indigenous variety. It's climate change resistant. It's really a true fighter against drought and heat waves.
And it has a very distinct personality in terms of winemaking, from chalky, heavier wines to these fresher, lighter reds that are trending nowadays. So this variety just thrives in our region and with very distinct features. As I said, there are other grapes accepted and planted in the area being 95% red varieties. Some of them are international varieties, such as Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon or Tempranillo or Petit Verdot. But we have a very important amount, of course, of Garnacha, Tintorera and Garnacha, which are also indigenous of the region and are slowly gaining acceptance and are more sought after in the region. And that's what happens as well with our whites, our white varieties.
There was a time where white grapes were much more abundant in the area, but the market trends shifted the weight to red variety plantings. But we do have some indigenous white varieties, such as Airén, Macabeo, Malvasia or Moscatel, which are giving excellent results in white wines nowadays. And we also have some international varieties, such as Sauvignon blanc or Chardonnay, which are also being mixed with the other indigenous varieties, they are also varietal wines that have also been really sought after in the region.
Now let's go to the soil aspect, which is the main purpose of this seminar. Why are soils in Jumilla so important for the resilience of our vineyards? I would like just to point out, first of all, that we need to know of course, that the variety of soils is huge. Here and everywhere. Within a small plot, you can find different types of soils. But in general terms, what we know in Jumilla is that our soil diversity is key to the thriving of the vines in Jumilla. Why is this? Well, mostly because of its calcareous and limestone origin, which is the material found in our mountains. And with the decomposition of these rocks and the erosion of these mountains, more and more limestone material is coming into the vineyards. There are some sandy and gravel soils as well, from the times where, well, millions of years ago, when Jumilla was covered by the Tethys Sea.
Just as an exotic thing to point out, we have very small rocky volcanic areas in Jumilla, and you can enjoy some wine references coming from this volcanic area. In general terms, our soils are very poor in organic matter, given the aridity of the area. Petrocalcic horizons are frequent. These are hardened calcic horizons deep into the soil, which act as a barrier to capillarity, so it prevents water from evaporating so quickly, especially in the summer moments. The texture is from light sandy to more thick, and coarse...it provides good drainage as well. And the effective depth of roots is very important for our soils and for the well being of the vines. All these help to achieve very good water retention, which is really the key to the well-being of our plants.
As I told you, we have very scarce rainfall, very high temperature summers. So these limestone soils, so good at retaining a small amount of water that falls, these are the key to the resilient vineyards in Jumilla. I want to just tell you a little bit as an example of how diverse the soils are in Jumilla. One of our wineries, our cellars, Vignalena, undertook a semi detailed soil study a couple of years ago in 50 hectare plots here in the northern part of Jumilla. They excavated some pits in the soil to better understand what they had below their feet and to be able to show their grower and the seller how to manage this vineyard with all this data that was obtained from this soil pit. This way, they could use this information to better understand their vineyard, to know how they should manage the vineyard during the year and especially the harvest period, according to what wine they wanted to make from this vineyard.
So in this pit one, we can observe deep soil with quite high effective depth, so roots can explore really well underneath the soil and obtain as much moisture as they can. You can observe very clearly the sandy horizons with small clay spots that provide some organic matter to the vines growing here. In contrast, this other slide with pit two shows also deep soil with high water retention characteristics, also fine sandy textures and it’s very low in organic matter.
Pit three shows more shallow soil and therefore with lower water retention capacity, given the compaction that is shown in some of the horizons, and it's also low in organic matter. Soil pit number four, which is also a very deep soil with medium water retention capacity, has a sandy gravel texture which you can observe in the upper horizons of the pit and is also very poor in organic matter.
And finally, soil pit number five shows a very deep soil with very good water retention capacity, sandy textures and is very low in organic matter. So all these five soil types which just looking at the picture are very clearly distinct among themselves, is just a very clear example of how diverse the same plot can be. We're talking about a 50 hectare plot, but this same case could happen in a two hectare plot or else. So imagine how diverse Jumilla soils can be given the fact that we have over 22,000 hectares of vines. But there are overall common characteristics to our soils which I would attribute to the fact that their physical properties help them to have an amazing water retention capacity, which is really the key to help the vineyard resist and thrive and provide high quality grapes in Jumilla. Just to finish, I would like to point out that the region is known for being highly environmentally friendly. It is also that wine and viticulture are social and economic drivers in our region. But this sustainability management of the vineyard, I think, is very unique in the sector. I commented on how arid the region is, so the number of inputs in the vineyard is really low, with mainly some organic manure, animal manure, no irrigation, no chemicals whatsoever. Organic farming is just in a way, natural to us. There's no need to undertake preventative treatments in the vineyard. So this together with the fact that the vines are small trees that control soil erosion, we're happy to say that viticulture is a true actor in the global fight against desertification and climate change. And that's what I wanted to tell you. Thank you.
Sarah Abbott MW: Thank you so much Carolina. I'm going to ask a few questions. I wanted to ask you about this area around ungrafted vines. And one question I had is, are you permitted to still replant ungrafted vines as long as it's through the acodo method?
Carolina Martínez Origone: Yes. According to Spanish law, it's not allowed to plant ungrafted vines to prevent Phylloxera from propagating more in the region. So new plantings should all be grafted with American rootstock or different clones and so on. However, in those old plantings that, as I said, there are over 800 ha in the region, it's normal that there are blank spaces from vines that have died, or that they have just become too old, too weak. And in those plantings, old plantings, the acodo method can be used within those plots to propagate the ungrafted vines. And just to point out, I would like to highlight that. We like to point out that old vines in Jumilla should be considered… 35 years old should already be considered old vines, because with such harsh conditions, climatic conditions, it's very hard for a vine to survive from more than 100 years ago. I mean, it's just objective, with this scarce rainfall, with so much heat, to have a 100 year old vine is already something heroic, in a way.
Sarah Abbott MW: Fantastic. And could you just explain what acodo method involves?
Carolina Martínez Origone: Yes. The acodo method is basically using the live shoot, of course, of one of the ungrafted vines of the Pie Franco vines, and introducing it next to the live plant. In a way, Acodo, in Spain...codo means elbow...Okay? So if you visualize the elbow shape of sort of an L, this shoot is introduced in the soil using this L shape method, in a way that the shape, the degrees of this shape make this shoot. It will be cooler and more moist, because there's shade that will be hitting the shoot inside the soil at the times. And this cool and shaded part, in depth, will provide or will develop the new roots. That's why it's in an L shape, so that there is a part that is shaded and will keep much more moist during the growing season.
Sarah Abbott MW: And does the child plant, if you like, remain connected to the mother plant?
Carolina Martínez Origone: It does, yes.
Sarah Abbott MW: This is the method that is often described in English, we would call it layering propagation. But thank you, Hannah Baltgate, for asking that question. I've spoken to a few growers in Jumilla, and those who are working with ungrafted vines do see them as something special. Many of the top producers do seek out and work with these vines. Do you have an opinion as to why so many top growers are attracted to ungrafted vines. Is it because they're old, or are there some other attributes of being ungrafted that they see as really valuable?
Carolina Martínez Origone: Yes. Well, first of all, if they are ungrafted, it means that they are old in a way. Right? Because, as I said, since the 80s, it's not permitted to plant ungrafted vines. So, yes, they would be at least 40 years old. Right? So everybody knows… Well, old vines are usually linked to high quality wines, right? And premium wines. So in terms of old, of course, and also in terms of physiology, we need to consider the fact that they are not grafted means that the sap in the plants can flow more easily, right? Up and down. So the intake of nutrients and of water from the very long roots that are in the soil will just flow much better and make the plant, in a way, work with less effort, let's say. And also in terms of genetics, I think these ungrafted old vines are really interesting because they are very diverse. There's a lot of genetic diversity, which is always good in terms of selecting those plants that are more attractive for the grower and the winemaker. And they can select, do this massal selection and then cloning, or whatever technique is used for the propagation. Yes, I think ungrafted vines are, of course, really a true gem for the growers and the winemakers.
Sarah Abbott MW: Thank you. There's a good question that's come in from Bouchon, which says, does the water retention increase with depth into the soil? And if so, has Carolina found moisture to be receding lower into the soil with droughts? So at what depth is the water retained in the soils?
Carolina Martínez Origone: Well, reaching effective depth is really important for the performance of the roots in these soils. So over 80 cm deep would be a good effective depth. But this water retention is not only this effective depth. We need to consider as well, the physical properties of the soil, such as these petrocalcic horizons that I mentioned, these hardened calcic horizons that are found deep into the soil, and which acts as a barrier to the water capillarity. These horizons break the capillarity, and so evapotranspiration is lower, especially in the very hot summer period. Also, the very common surface is full of limestone stones, this sort of crust full of stones that we see in many of the vineyards in Jumilla. This also acts as a barrier to this capillarity flow that needs to be broken in order to maintain as much moisture as possible. And, of course, the management of the vineyard here, the traditional management is to do mechanical plowing to keep it free of weeds that could compete with the vine. And which also breaks this capillarity, which, well, of course, together with these physical properties, are the key to this high water retention capacity. So the petro and calcic horizons actually work in your favor because they break the capillarity and reduce evapotranspiration. Exactly. We have a saying here in the Jumilla, well, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to translate it for you, is that, this petrocalcic horizon, is responsible for the Botijo effect. The botijo is the traditional ceramic container used here and throughout the Mediterranean, of course, to drink water, to store water in the houses and in the countryside. And these ceramic containers, you know how they keep the water? It keeps it cool for a very long time. It can be 45 degrees outside. You drink from this Botijo and the water is cool.
Right?
Sarah Abbott MW: David asks, are there cover crops? I didn't think there would be very many cover crops because of the competition for water. Is that correct?
Carolina Martínez Origone: Exactly. I mean, this is something that also needs to be known in our region. I mean, of course, we would like to have our vineyards covered with natural green grass, right? But here we're very close to the desert in a way, so the very little weeds that grow are usually pulled out to prevent this competition. And as I mentioned before, to break the capillarity of the soil and reduce the evapotranspiration in the summer period.
Sarah Abbott MW: Amazing. Good question from Anna Harris Noble, is there a particular soil type that the oldest vines tend to be found in?
Carolina Martínez Origone: But we would need to really undertake a very thorough soil study, very detailed in terms of scale, to know this…from what we know from our growers and our wineries, is that these old vines, many of them ungrafted, that we've talked about, are located in very diverse soils in Jumilla. But as I said, the majority of these soil types have this common denominator, which is limestone materials and very high water retention capacity.
Sarah Abbott MW: And another question about soils from Belinda. How does the soil change as the altitude increases?
Carolina Martínez Origone: Also, a very thorough soil study...a soil map should be carried out. But it's not so much about altitude, I think, as a fact of geology and the morphology of the different plots, because we can find similar soils in, say, for example, some of the pits we've seen. We can see them located at
around 800 meters above sea level. I explained how many different soil types you can find there. What we can say is that there is a clear link with vineyards located at the foothill compared to the vineyards located in the shallowest points of the valley. But this is not really determined by altitude, because these shallow valleys could be located at 400 meters or at 800 meters. So in the shallowest part of the region, we will find more sand from erosion, and in the foothill of the mountains, we will find more stone, more coarse material, and therefore more hardened calcic horizons.
Sarah Abbott MW: Thank you. A very good question, which I suspect could prompt a long answer, would it be possible to know more about the practices Winemakers in Jumilla are implementing to combat desertification, in particular, superficial soil degradation?
Carolina Martínez Origone: Yes, this is something that is really a concern in the rest of the world. Of course, we need to fight desertification. So mechanical plowing, although it's recommended, as I said, given the current conditions we have, should be done with care. I mean, mechanical plowing should always be done when the soil has the right moisture. If you plow when the soil is really dry, you will lose centimeters of soil. And the top centimeters of soil are the ones which contain the highest amounts of organic matter, which is so scarce as well, in our soils. So plowing should really be something that growers take into consideration, and not just plow when they have the time.
Sarah Abbott MW: Just a quick follow up on that. Are the principles and new developments in regenerative agriculture being followed by the region and growers in the region?
Carolina Martínez Origone: Yes, absolutely. Apart from organic farming, which is, as you know, a very general set of practices in agriculture, we do have some growers using biodynamic methods as well, and regenerative agriculture as well, to try to enrich their soils. But I would like to point out that in our region, given the fact that inputs are so low in terms of fertilizers, of feed sanitaries, of chemicals, in general, soils are quite chemical free, so they are quite healthy. And what they lack the most is organic matter. And in that sense, good quality organic animal manure is used.
It's recommended that every two, three years, it's used in the soils to enrich it and to enhance the soil texture and the soil properties. And also, when you prune, right? the shoots, you know how in other regions they are incorporated into the soil to also enhance organic matter and the soil properties. But in our area, we need to consider that, given the fact that it's so arid, you cannot just put it into the soil and expect that this rest of pruning will be incorporated into the soil. This needs to be composted in a way so that before being incorporated into the soil, they are in a way, somewhat degraded and their beneficial characteristics may be absorbed into the soil, because it rains so little that you cannot expect that they will be decomposed naturally so easily in the soil.
Sarah Abbott MW: Thank you so much to you for your great insights, knowledge and openness. Thank you to all of our guests. If you are in the UK, just bear in mind that there are some wonderful examples of these old vine wines from Jumilla, from Monastrell available in the UK from producers like Juan Gil, Bodegas Casa Castillo, Bodega de Serón, these are widely available, beautiful wines. And I also know there's very good availability in the US. So please do seek out these wines. You won't be disappointed.
My colleague Belinda Stone, who's the director of membership and marketing for the Old vine conference, has got some exciting news about our next April field trip.
Belinda Stone: Thank you Sarah. Thank you Carolina. Really interesting session. We’ve got a field trip to Jumilla towards the end of April, the 22nd to the 24th of April. We will be discovering firsthand some of the soil pits that Carolina has shown us today and visiting some old vine wine producers in the region. Old vine conference field trips have become more important to us over the last year and we've actually held four already in Europe. This will be our second one to Spain.
For anyone listening, the trips are for trade and for media, and if this sounds like something that's very interesting to you, please do get in touch. We have criteria to meet for the guests that join us, but we would love to hear from you if that's of interest. My contact detail is belinda@oldvines.org, do send me an email about the field trip if you have any questions or to do with what's being discussed today. If you want to reach out directly to Carolina or to Sarah, we would be very happy to hear from you and sign up to our electronic newsletter. But for now, thank you all for your time. Thank you for joining us and for being part of the Old Vine conference community, and we look forward to seeing you at the next workshop.
Thanks very much.