西班牙國寶級酒廠 維嘉西西里亞酒廠。故事的起源要回到1848年,Toribio Lecanda買下了約800公頃的土地,開啟了維嘉西西里亞的傳奇。園區早期主要的經營重心在於畜牧、穀物、果樹種植與陶器製作等,直到1864年由Toribio的兒子Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves接手經營後,才開始耙地、種植。Eloy不僅僅栽種本地的格納希 (Garnacha)與田帕尼歐(Tempranillo)品種,更從法國購買了18,000株葡萄,包含卡本內・蘇維濃、梅洛、馬爾貝克、甚至黑皮諾品種。
1915年,酒廠正式以維嘉西西里亞酒廠的名義推出5款葡萄酒:UNICO紅酒、無年份的UNICO RESERVA ESPECIAL、UNICO白酒(1947年起停產)、VALBUENA 5°以及 VALBUENA 3°(最後生產年份為1987)。1929年在巴塞隆納世界博覽會(Exposicion Universal de Barcelona)中,維嘉西西里亞酒廠的旗艦酒款UNICO以1917與1918兩個年份贏得榮譽大獎,打響了酒廠的知名度。
目前維嘉西西里亞酒廠的葡萄園種植面積約為250公頃(其中50公頃園區劃分給同集團的ALIÓN酒廠使用),分為南北兩部分,北邊靠近斗羅河岸,土壤以黏土和砂質土為主,南邊則多為面北的山坡地,土壤含有許多石灰質。維嘉西西里亞酒廠內的葡萄藤平均樹齡為35年(超過60年的葡萄藤將會拔除重種),每公頃種植約2,200株葡萄,平均產量不超過2,000公升。
2010年9月,維嘉西西里亞酒廠啟用最新建造的釀酒窖,酒廠旗下紅酒的培養方式相當特殊,發酵完成後會將酒液移至7,000~20,000公升的大木槽熟成約10個月,接著移入小型橡木桶中繼續熟成,最後再移回大木槽中進行約3~4年的最後培養階段,全程的橡木桶培養時間約為7年,裝瓶後再經3年的瓶中熟成才上市。
1982年,Alvarez家族購入維嘉西西里亞酒廠,除專心致力於維嘉西西里亞酒廠的品牌經營外,也不斷的擴展其葡萄酒王國的版圖,在本區重建了ALIÓN酒廠,並在多羅、里奧哈以及匈牙利托凱區都有投資。維嘉西西里亞酒廠的盛名並非一蹴可及,而是經過了不斷的沿革、努力耕耘才造就了今日西班牙葡萄酒歷史上神秘且美麗的傳奇。
Spain's national treasure winery, Vega Sicilia Winery. The origin of the story goes back to 1848, when Toribio Lecanda bought about 800 hectares of land, starting the legend of Vega Sicilia. The main focus of the park's early operations was on animal husbandry, grain, fruit tree planting and pottery making. It was not until 1864 when Toribio's son Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves took over the business that harrowing and planting began. Eloy not only grows local Garnacha and Tempranillo varieties, but also buys 18,000 grapes from France, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and even Pinot Noir.
In 1915, the winery officially launched five wines under the name of Vega Sicilia Winery: UNICO red wine, non-vintage UNICO RESERVA ESPECIAL, UNICO white wine (discontinued in 1947), VALBUENA 5° and VALBUENA 3° (the last production year was 1987). In 1929, at the Barcelona Universal Exposition (Exposicion Universal de Barcelona), Vega Sicilia's flagship wine UNICO won the Grand Prix for its 1917 and 1918 vintages, which made the winery famous.
Currently, the vineyard planting area of Vega Sicilia Winery is about 250 hectares (of which 50 hectares are allocated to the ALIÓN winery of the same group), divided into two parts, north and south. The north is close to the Douro River bank, and the soil is mainly clay and sandy soil. The south is mostly north-facing hillsides, and the soil contains a lot of lime. The average age of the vines at the Vega Sicilia winery is 35 years (vines over 60 years old are pulled out and replanted), with approximately 2,200 vines planted per hectare and an average yield of no more than 2,000 liters.
In September 2010, Vega Sicilia Winery opened its newly built winery. The winery's red wine has a very special cultivation method. After fermentation, the wine will be moved to large wooden vats of 7,000 to 20,000 liters for aging for about 10 months, then moved to small oak barrels for further aging, and finally moved back to the large wooden vats for the final cultivation stage of about 3 to 4 years. The entire oak barrel cultivation time is about 7 years, and after bottling, it will be aged in the bottle for another 3 years before being released to the market.
In 1982, the Alvarez family purchased the Vega Sicilia winery. In addition to focusing on the brand management of the Vega Sicilia winery, they also continued to expand the territory of their wine empire, rebuilt the ALIÓN winery in the region, and invested in Douro, Rioja and Tocay, Hungary. The fame of Vega Sicilia Winery was not achieved overnight, but the result of continuous evolution and hard work to create the mysterious and beautiful legend in the history of Spanish wine today.