Envínate Benje Blanco

Winemaker: Roberto Santana, Alfonso Torrente, Laura Ramos and José Martínez

Appellation: Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

Grape Varieties: Listan Blanco

The Benje wines are from vineyards in and around Santiago del Teide, high on the northwestern volcanic slopes of the island of Tenerife. The viticulture is very oldfashioned: the vines grow untrained, the soil is worked by hand, and no chemicals are used. The island experiences a fairly temperate climate, enabling grapes to ripen at moderate alcohol levels while retaining bright acidity. The main challenges to viticulture are winds from the Atlantic and Africa and fluctuations in humidity.

Benje Blanco is sourced from several old-vine, untrained pie franco parcels of Listan Blanco. Each parcel is hand-harvested and vinified separately in a mix of concrete tank and open tubs. 75% of the fruit is pressed directly off the skins, the other 25% is skinmacerated 14-40 days between 18-30C. The wine is then raised for 8 months in 60% concrete and 40% old French barriques on fine lees without battonage or added SO2. The finished wine is clarified with Bentonite, and bottled without filtration. Benje Blanco is a high-toned white wine, showing its volcanic terruño with smoky notes wrapped around the orchard fruit core, braced by Atlantic-infused high-elevation acidity. Pair it with prawns, scallops, roasted pork or goat.

Envínate (translates as "wine yourself") is the brainchild of 4 friends, winemakers Roberto Santana, Alfonso Torrente, Laura Ramos, and José Martínez.  This gang of 4 formed back in 2005 while studying enology at the University of Miguel Hernandez in Alicante. Upon graduation, they formed a winemaking consultancy, which evolved into Envínate, a project that focuses on exploring distinctive parcels mainly in the Atlantic-inflected regions of Ribeira Sacra and the Canary Islands. Their collective aim is to make profoundly pure and authentic wines that express the terruño of each parcel in a clear and concise manner. To this end, no chemicals are used in any of the Envínate vineyards, all parcels are picked by hand, the grapes are foot-trodden, and the wines are fermented exclusively with wild yeasts, with a varying proportion of whole grape clusters included. For aging, the wines are raised in old barrels and concrete, and sulfur is only added at bottling, if needed. The results are some of the most exciting and honest wines being produced in Spain today.