Rioja Alavesa, Spain
Etérea Kripan
Rooted in the elevated terraces of Rioja Alavesa, Etérea Kripan is a boutique wine project founded by Melanie Hickman. Melanie used her life savings to buy a vineyard parcel she fell in love with and moved from Hawaii to Elvillar where her winery is located. She crafts her wine at Bodegas Bhilar which she runs with her husband, David Sampedro.
Melanie’s vineyards are biodynamic, and the vines thrive in the biodiverse environment with hedge rows, peach trees, rosemary bushes and bees. Etérea Kripan produces five cuvées and Vinalia is delighted to work with Melanie to bring these unique wines to our part of the world.
Phinca Hapa Blanco
The Hapa vineyard, at 650 m and with primarily chalky limestone soils, was planted in 1967 with both black and white grape varieties. The vine spacing is relatively large allowing a wide range of cover crops as well as plough horses to work the vineyard, reducing soil compaction.
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Phinca Hapa Blanco is a blend of predominantly Viura with some Garnacha Blanca and Malvasia. Its vinification is unusual for a white wine in that it undergoes semi-carbonic maceration (a practice typically reserved for red wines, like some Beaujolais, where whole grape clusters are placed in a large sealed vat to kick-start an enzymatic reaction in the grapes and spontaneous fermentation to retain fresh fruit flavours). The wine is then fermented on its skins for up to 60 days. The result is an orange hued wine with remarkable aromatic complexity and texture.
