On Wednesday 24 April Coviñas, the 60-year-old Group centred on Requena in DO Utiel-Requena presented a new range of wines to the assembled press in the ‘Only You’ Hotel in Valencia. The organisation, which needs no introduction represents 10 co-operatives in the area and is the outlet for some three thousand families, growing their grapes but not producing their own wines. Coviñas is noted for its attention to sustainable agriculture and has been involved in major studies, with the DO over recent years into pest control, climate change, and the major local grape variety, Bobal.

They have been chosen as The Best Cooperative Wine Group for two successive years by the prestigious DWM Wine Trophy group, responsible for the Berlin Wine Trophy amongst other top International competitions.

The presentation had two parallel intentions, firstly to introduce the thinking behind the new wines and their respective style on the one hand and the new Directors who are responsible for their creation and future marketing on the other.

The event was led by the Director General, Jorgi Srougi, himself a well-travelled and experienced operator before ending up in his current post. His main message was that the Group’s ‘source of learning is the vineyard and their major aim is to protect and respect it’.

‘Aula’ is the range of wines they have chosen to highlight this, a range that is a tribute to the native soils of the land and its people who have dedicated themselves to the production of wine and who by consequence have driven Coviñas to be a benchmark for the region. The distinctive labels depict traditional working implements and the flora and fauna of Utiel-Requena.

The concept for the labels and their realisation is the work of the Group’s Marketing Director, Patricia Alvarez.

The new Chardonnay joins a popular range of wines aimed specifically at the Hotel and Restaurant Trade, reasonably priced and affordable wines that accompany the wide range of gastronomy in the Valencian Community but which match well with international cuisine as well.

This Chardonnay is a young wine without exposure to oak, easy to drink, and that meets the market expectations of newer drinkers. This consumer group is looking for a less traditional style where an enticing bouquet full of fruit, flowers, and other nuances precedes an ample pass in the mouth. This group seeks rather a refreshing and youthful pass on the palate. Isidro Rodriguez, the new Technical Director introduced the wine which was well received and certainly meets this criteria, being light on the nose but fresh, fruity, and refreshing.

This market change is interesting because it is not just driven by young Spanish consumers but is a much more International developing trend.

‘Al Vent’  is a range that Coviñas initially pioneered some years back, the Sauvignon Blanc being a good expression of the variety as it might have been produced in Northern France, full of hay, gooseberry fruit, and elderflower notes on the nose and the Mediterranean influence coming in the tropical fruit notes in the mouth.

The new Sauvignon Blanc couldn’t be further from this original concept! Very light on the nose it is nonetheless a ‘flavour bomb‘ on the palate of fruit and has a balancing acidity that rounds it out perfectly. Not our first choice variety to accompany oysters it nonetheless accompanied a selection of these salty bivalve molluscs perfectly.

Tempranillo is the other monovarietal introduced into the range. Opinion is sharply divided in Utiel-Requena as to whether Tempranillo actually ‘works’ as a variety and is even suited to the region. Of course, it is the most widely planted red grape variety in Spain and a mainstay in Rioja where it is considered Spain’s contribution to the canon of ‘Noble Varieties’.

For a ‘vino de chatear’ (a youthful fruity wine for sharing with friends and mainly to accompany jamon and cheese) it went rather well with a tartare of beef with a quails egg, and later, with a range of traditional tapas including chicken and jamon croquetas! There was no shortage of wild blackberry fruit on the palate and it is another fresh and refreshing wine.

The challenge for the bodega now is to tap into this home and International Market and for this reason Francisco Carracero has been appointed as the Commercial Director to market the wines in both sectors. He brings to the group a wide range of experience having worked previously for some ‘big-name’ producers in the wine sector.

With a spectacular ‘cocktail’ buffet produced by the kitchen of Only You Hotel, one of Valencia’s newer and most trendy , Coviñas also offered their Aula Rosado and Cava, two of three wines with which they won gold medals in the recent Concurso de Vinos Valencianos (Proava).

There seems little doubt going forward, that the future is set well for the Group!