Old vineyard whose hallmark is diversity
Due to being located on the western border, close to Portugal, Tierra del Vino de Zamora is at a higher altitude than the closest wine region, Toro, reaching 750 metres above sea level. This means that the area experiences lower temperatures, particularly during the summer and the month of September, which is a key aspect in the grapes’ maturation. In addition to this particularity, the area has good aeration, with a continuous breeze that refreshes and maintains the grapes healthy during the humid seasons.
The average temperature in the province of Zamora is the highest in Castilla y León, which unifies the crops. Tierra del Vino is also a well-ventilated region, which compensates the summer’s high temperatures and minimises the risks of diseases in the vineyard. The harvest usually starts on the first fortnight of October.
In Tierra del Vino de Zamora there are some of the oldest vineyards in Spain. These are authentic survivors. A region like ‘Tierra del Vino’ that, focused its economic activity on the vineyard and the wine trade, today only conserves a small part of those vineyards, and the ones that still survive are still in serious danger. The responsibility and commitment of a project like Viñas del Cénit is key to ensure that this wine heritage is maintained and recognized.
Viñas del Cénit owns 20 hectares of old vineyards in the area (between 80 and 120 years old), 14 of them acquired in recent years.
The fundamental characteristic of this old vineyard is its varietal diversity. The Tempranillo variety is the majority in the area, but there are also others, both red and white, that have traditionally been overshadowed. Among the reds, in addition to Tempranillo, there is Garnacha Tintorera and among the whites, Verdejo, Godello, Albillo or Palomino.
Until now, in Tierra del Vino de Zamora, only a part of its personality has been told, but there is another aspect that had been forgoten and that Viñas del Cénit wants to recover because precisely in the diversity of those old vines is where it is found the true identity of this territory.