Bodegas Tobía in Rioja Alta first began using “intelligent” fermentation tanks in 2003 and says they give “higher quality wine at a lower price”. Tucked away in the medieval town of Cuzcurrita del Río Tirón, in Rioja Alta, about half way between Logroño and Vitoria, lies Bodegas Tobía. It’s a savvy location for a winery, close to the river, sheltered from the Iberian wind by two mountains, and a key fixture on the pilgrimage tourist trail. But it’s site specifics are not the only savvy thing about this producer. Despite operating within a 15th Century walled town, Bodegas Tobía has spearheaded a technical revolution in Rioja. The producer was a pioneer in using what its winemaking team calls ‘smart tanks’ in Spain, and has made almost all its red wines in these tanks for more than 20 years. It is also responsible for producing the country’s first barrel-fermented rosé (the Alma de Tobia Rosé), kickstarting a trend for aged Spanish pink wines. “The cost of buying and installing the smart tanks is almost double that of traditional tanks. However, it helps to lower our annual production costs, so in the long run it will be beneficial for the winery,” Carlos Ocete, oenologist and export area manager for Bodegas Tobía, told db. The smart fermenter is a patented winemaking system that “exploits the exceptional natural capacity of fermentation gas (40/50 litres of CO2 per litre of must) to obtain a gentle and effective extraction,” explains Ocete. Called the Metodo Ganimede (or
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine
