19/09/2018
A must on the Alicante wine route: Visit Wineries Enrique Mendoza
The Province of Alicante has multiple charms for your maximum enjoyment; famous are its beaches, its climate, its gastronomy and the friendliness of its people. In Alicante you have many activities to do, but we want to propose an activity that you will undoubtedly love, a different, cultural, tasty and very entertaining option.
Wine tourism in general and in particular wine tourism in Alicante is booming, and that is why we want you to enjoy our culture, a wine culture deeply rooted in our province of which you will undoubtedly fall in love.
For some time now, there is something that everyone talks about, the quality of the Alicante wines; wines that are outstanding and that are highly valued by the most exquisite palates and the most reputed critics. This is why we propose an enological view of one of the most important wineries in Alicante, which is very close to our Hotel Montíboli, between Alfaz del Pi and Benidorm, and which is a must if you are a lover of good wine.
Enrique Mendoza Wineries: The History
Enrique Mendoza began his career in the wine world in the 70s. He started producing wine for his family and friends, but his passion led him to take a step further, to want to become a professional.
The lands of Alfaz, in which the winery is located, were ideal for the cultivation of Roman muscatel, but they were too close to the sea and the humidity was too high to be able to get the wines that Mendoza had in mind. This was the moment in which the winemaker searched for better lands to fulfill his dream and make quality wines with French stocks brought for the occasion, not knowing if these would adapt to the soil of the new Finca El Chaconero in Villena.
Today, the winery has 12,000 vines of international varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot, Shiraz, Chardonnay, to which has been added the recovery of a variety from Alicante, Monastrell, the sum of the which make a total of more than 300,000 plants in production.
Pepe Mendoza son of Enrique Mendoza is currently one of the most reputable winemakers in Spain, his wines are recognized nationally and internationally for their quality. French award-winning Chateau-style wines, such as the Santa Rosa coupage or the Estrecho monovarietal, highly punctuated even by the wine guru Robert Parker, which you can enjoy during your visit to the Alfaz de Pi winery as well as in our hotel at the Emperador Restaurant.
For the Mendoza "A great wine is born from the best viticulture" "An adult vineyard and a young and risky enology are the keys of our wines". Their wine is a result of their love for their land and for the daily work in the plots with vines, work that is carried out from two complementary points of view, ecology and agrotechnology.
But if there is one thing that defines this family of winemakers, it is the enthusiasm and passion for wine and the culture that surrounds it. That is why its wines do not stop improving year after year, exquisite wines that extol their Alicante and Mediterranean origins.
Guided tour and wine tasting at E. Mendoza Wineries
If you want to know the essence of Alicante wines in depth, be sure to visit Enrique Mendoza’s winery in a visit that will open your eyes to the world of wine and all the work, love and dedication that exists after this drink of the gods.
Two-hour tours, which are held from Tuesday to Friday at 10: 00h, 12: 00h and 16: 00h, and on Saturday mornings. The visits are available in both Spanish and English.
A journey that begins in the experimental pruning field where the origin of the winery is explained, the type of agriculture and the techniques they use, to move to the final product heated room where you will know all the ins and outs of wine distribution, its conservation and storage, the bottling room, and finally the cellar (one of the largest in the Valencian Community) where we can see more than 1400 French and American oak barrels and explain the differences between a young wine, an aging wine, a reserve, a great reserve, the varieties of grapes ... that is to say, the different stages of wine making from the work with the vines in the field and their typologies, until their release to the market.
The second part is more relaxed, consisting of a tasting of Mendoza wines in the winery's garden area, where a professional winemaker will guide you in the tasting of the 6 of the best wines of the winery; its young white Chardonnay 2017, its new rosé wine Monsatrell, (Monastrell autochthonous yeast), an aging Monastrell-Merlot 2016, a Shiraz 2015 reserve and the famous Estrecho y Santa Rosa wines, to end with its sweet wine Dolç of Mendoza, all accompanied by a tasting-pairing of the extra virgin olive oil Barranco of Tagarina made by the winery itself, along with a selection of cheeses and a selection of Spanish cooked meats, as well as delicious Chocolates Valor to accompany the sweet wine for dessert.
So if you like wine, you are interested to know more about this unique world or you want to learn to taste the most delicious wines ... you cannot miss the best wine route in Alicante, without a doubt you will be conquered in all senses.
Enjoy wine, enjoy your passion with the Hotel Montíboli and the wines of Enrique Mendoza. Ask at reception for your reservation, it will be an experience you will not forget.
Cheers!
