The Cotino Family

Valencia, Spain

The Valencia region is located in the eastern part of Spain and is known for its warm climate and beautiful beaches facing the Mediterranean Sea. Valencia city is also famous as the birthplace of oranges and paella, and is a region with a rich food culture and history. Many festivals are held throughout the year, making it a popular and lively tourist destination.

The Valencia region as a wine producing region is characterized by a wide variety of grape varieties and styles. White wines are popular for their fruity and aromatic flavors made from local varieties such as Macabeo and Moscatel. Red wines, on the other hand, are made from Bobal and Tempranillo, and have a rich fruity and spicy flavor.

The Cotino family's domain and vineyards

Los Marcos is a small village in the highlands about an hour's drive northwest of Valencia. On the outskirts of the village is the "Aranleon" winery, where the Cotino family makes wine.
The Cotino family is led by their wife, Maria Sancho, who studied agriculture at a university in Valencia before deciding to pursue winemaking.

This is an area covered with vineyards, and most of the farmers simply supplied their harvested grapes to major manufacturers. However, in 2000, Cotino purchased the village's only wine farm, which produces its own wine.
The Cotino family has two farms, one here in Aranleon and the other in Monte Sanco, about 20 minutes by car from Aranleon.

The Utiel-Requena region, where the two wineries are located, is a plateau at an altitude of 700m and has a dry inland climate with extreme temperature differences, making it extremely suitable for growing grapes.

Cotino, who also works in construction, has preserved the original structure of the brewery building while creating an environment more suitable for winemaking.

They are working hard to make their wines accessible to a wider range of people, by using Braille on all of their labels and only using plant-based proteins for fining.

Organic history : Certified since 2003

・White grapes : Macabeo, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Moscatel (Muscat)

・Black grapes: Bobal, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvedre, Syrah

Field soil

Overlooking the Aranleón vineyards is the Sierra de Cuenca National Park, a beautiful and naturally rich area that has been designated a nature reserve by the international organization UICN.

The vineyards, located at an altitude of about 700m, are well-sunned and in summer the daytime temperature reaches 30-35°C, but drops to 15°C at night, creating a temperature difference that is favorable for the grapes.
The inland climate away from the sea makes the area very dry and produces concentrated grapes.

The soil is clay-limestone.
The main varieties used here are Bobal and Tempranillo for reds and Macabeo Blanc for whites.

Characteristics of cultivation methods etc.

We don't use Bordeaux mixture to combat mildew, only a little sulphur when necessary.

Monte Sanco is located at an altitude of about 800m, 100m higher than Alain Leon, and has drier, poorer soil, which results in lower production but more concentrated grapes.

In addition, since adopting biodynamic farming methods in 2017, the ecosystem of the fields has further improved, and the goal is to eventually grow grapes without using sulfur or other ingredients.

The harvest is done entirely by hand from late August to October, depending on the degree of ripeness of the grapes. Bobal in particular is harvested the latest in order to use the most ripe grapes.

Characteristics of brewing method

The harvested grapes are crushed and put into the first cement tank, and as fermentation progresses they are transferred to barrels or stainless steel tanks underground for blending and aging.

This is called "gravity flow," a mechanism that allows juice and wine to move from top to bottom using gravity during the brewing process.

It requires minimal power for pumps and other equipment, which means it puts less strain on both the wine and the environment.

From the producers to everyone in Japan

Our region is one of the oldest and yet least known wine regions in Spain. Discover and enjoy our organic wines, carefully crafted from traditional local grape varieties!