Flavor, bouquet and history, are three elements that you find at the Tierra de Luz vineyard In Leon there is a growing wine tradition and one
Flavor, bouquet and history, are three elements that you find at the Tierra de Luz vineyard
In Leon there is a growing wine tradition and one of the newest vineyards is only 15 minutes from the ‘Zona Dorada’, in the north of the City, let’s take a walk in this ancient hacienda, which is now a wine producing place
Leon/Gto News
From the Golden Zone of Leon you drive 15 minutes and only some 500 meters from the road to Lagos de Moreno you find the vineyard Tierra de Luz, one of the youngest wine producers in Guanajuato and one that already has 2 products in the market.
We talked to Luz, a proud Leonesa who with enthusiasm talks about her creation, Tierra de Luz.
From a romance
“The vineyard was born from a romance of mine of love to the land. This property has belonged to the family for some 50 years. I love this place and also I like the good wine and one day I said ‘Here we can grow a good vineyard. That is how the idea was born’”, tells Luz, who proudly allows us to go down to the last lot with grapevines whose grapes soon, right after our visit, were harvested.
“I started with two hectares five years ago”, remembers Luz. “Today I have 5 hectares with grapevines, I have been planting and last year I planted the last hectare”, said Luz as we walked next to the vineyards.
Flavor and bouquet
Taking a stroll through the vineyards is a unique experience, knowing that these grapes will produce wines with a flavor that will satisfy the most demanding palates and wine lovers and which will leave behind a bouquet that will be savored much beyond the last sip is to think on the nature of wine, a drink that has been with man almost since the beginning of civilization.
The three wines
“Now I have many types of grapes in the vineyard. Merlot, Malbec, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Albariño and Semillon. These last types were added just this year and with these type of grapes I have grapes to produce red, white and rosé wines”, said Luz in pride.
“Today I have two brands in the market. We sell a sparkling rosé Merlot and a rosé Merlot. It is a serene wine. The production of this wine is from the harvests 2018 and 2019”, said Luz, who recalls: “Did you know that the hacienda has a great history”. No, I answer.
History of hundreds of years
“Some years ago, 40, 45 years, my family and I were in the hacienda and a friend of my father came to him and showed him a magazine, it was an issue of Mexico Desconocido. On the frontpage was a photo of tha facade of the temple and the hacienda, in that edition was all the story of the hacienda, it told about its owner, it was someone called Juan Jaramillo, a spaniard who was married to La Malinche, the woman who was the translator and mate of Hernan Cortes in his first years in Mexico before and after the Conquista”, remembers Luz.
Hacienda Jaramillo de Abajo was named after its first owner, the combatant from the times of the Conquista. Juan Jaramillo came to Mexico with Hernan Cortes, and fought with him in his Conquista battles. The hacienda was founded in 1550, after Hernan Cortes granted Juan Jaramillo his retirement and he gave him La Malinche, just as Hernan’s wife was arriving to Mexico from Spain, then Cortes could not have her anymore and gave her to Juan Jaramillo, Cortes also gave him the land of the hacienda.
For visitors
“The temple and some other constructions of the hacienda date from that time. I have repaired it and left it in better conditions and today some religious celebrations can be held inside. Also, some other constructions are being remodeled and left in conditions to be used”, says Luz. “The place has its own history because of its original owner and his relation to the Conquista”.
The first vines
When Hernan Cortes came to Mexico it was a tradition that for each indian the spaniards should plant a vine. So from that time we have the presence of grapes in Mexico, an activity that in Hacienda Jaramillo de Abajo is related to the production of grapes and wine today”, says Luz as we go on walking around the vineyards on our way back to the hacienda.
As we walk Luz tells us that all the history of the hacienda is well documented in the Historic Archive of Lagos de Moreno, and that is the reason why she tells it with all that self security and pride.
A traditional celebration
“In the temple of the hacienda we celebrate the Cristo de la Ascencion, each year there is a feast, and people from the nearby communities bring flowers and candles on the date the Church assigns for its feast. People from around come and do the feast, an authentic ranch feast”, says Luz.
A celebration of all
“Tierra de Luz helps people to have a nice celebration and they enjoy and are thankful that we let them come in close contact with the Cristo de la Ascencion”, says Luz with an evident love for the traditions that she now feels very much her own.
Open for tours
“In the hacienda we are working to remodel some premises and open them for visitors of the vineyard and the hacienda”, says Luz, who is really enthusiastic that more people can enjoy the vineyard and the hacienda with all its history. “It is a story of great love that I feel for this place. I want people to come and enjoy it and share with them the beauty of the place, more so when it is so close to Leon.
A Guanajuatense product
The wines produced at Tierra de Luz are Guanajuatense, the company is registered in Guanajuato and luz says that she is a member of the Association of Wine of Guanajuato.
We asked Luz why the vineyard is named Tierra de Luz and she tells us: “This is a place where you can feel a very positive energy, people feels good when they visit the place, they feel a lot of peace when they are in contact with nature. But also because of my name, my name is Luz and I play with the words of the land and my name”.
Our wines
The wines that have been produced in the vineyard are Rosé de Merlot and Bubbling Rosé de Merlot, some kind of champagne, only that it cannot be named champagne.
Since they are the first harvests of grapes they are producing rosé wine, because the vineyard is only a few years old and the grapes are not good yet for red wine. “But in 2019 we harvested the first grapes for a red wine and it is going to go on sale in October 2020, right now it is in the barrels, but it will soon go to the market”, says Luz as she notes that in october the first red wine of Tierra de Luz will be on sale, and also she says with joy that the white wine is coming by the end of 2020, and also, more rosé wine is on production.
Back in history
We get to the hacienda after walking for a while through the vineyards in a place that holds history and tales of locals and workers who have gone through the walls and hallways of a place that is almost 500 years old.
To know more of Tierra de Luz go to:
Or visit the social networks:
- Instagram: Tierradeluz_Vinedo
- Facebook: Tierra de Luz Hacienda Vinicola
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