Behind the vine

Eva Escudè - Trossos del Priorat - Priorat, Spain

When do you think you fell in love with wine, enough to make a career of it?

I have always lived near vineyards and since I was a child I used to go and see how the farmers brought their grapes into the cooperatives. In school, I started my studies in the laboratory, but soon I was into yeasts and fermentations and after that I studied oenology. I have always been very fond of science and microbiology.

What story does your wine tell?

For me, my wines have the history of being the fruit of a special land, the Priorat. The soil of this land is very interesting because it is composed of licorella (a type of slate) that makes the vines suffer, so it gives you a grape, of limited quantity but very concentrated in colour, tannins, sugars, aromas. Together with this soil so poor in nutrients, a dry climate is combined with hot days and cold nights that help the grapes mature until they reach their optimum point. Our wines are mineral and express the Priorat, but at the same time they are elegant, fresh, complex, friendly and with many nuances. This is how we like to make our wines in Trossos del Priorat.

What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?

For me one of the wrong concepts is to give a lot of weight to the oenologist in the winery, when the main thing is to have a very good grape to make good wines, so it depends on a whole team of people who work hard all year round. Another wrong concept is not to take rosé wines into account as they are difficult to make. It is also very easy to negatively rate a wine, but I think that you have to really respect the complexities of any wine because behind each wine there is a huge amount of work conditioned by many external factors.

What great things about wine do you think people should remember?

I think we have to remember that the vine is a wonderful plant that gives us spectacular fruit which, after working it very well, can give great results. We must thank the people who have continued to work the vine in difficult times and who today give us very good wines. We also have to remember that wine is the result of a natural process (fermentation) and that what we do as oenologists is to conduct this whole process.

What is a piece of advice you would give to a woman interested in breaking into the wine world?

The advice I give to women who want to start with wine would say that it is a very nice and interesting field, but above all it has to be very important that it is your hobby and your passion at the same time. I think that if you are lucky enough to like this job you can't ask for more in life, you work, enjoy yourself and see the results.

Who is a woman in wine you think everyone should know about?

There are a lot of women that I admire in the world of wine and luckily every day there are more women who are dedicated to wine making.

Some of them are Isabel Mijares (she was one of the first to become an oenologist in Spain), Carmen Ferrer, Veronica Ortega, Maria Vargas, Mireia Torres, Sara Perez, Ester Nin, and so many more who are dedicated to wine.

Where can women find your wine?

Our wines can be bought in specialized shops in different countries of the world. We export to almost all Europe, some parts of Asia, America,... They can also be tasted in wine shops and restaurants around the world.

You can also come and stay at our vineyard: https://en.trossosdelpriorat.com/