Artisan Wine Attraction, the association of wineries that defends artisanal wine

The term "artisanal" has been overused by marketing, but genuine craftsmanship is experiencing a resurgence, and artisanal wines are its best example. The Artisan Wine Attraction collective has been bringing together nearly a hundred wineries that follow this philosophy for years, and time and the market seem to be proving them right.

Pilar Higuero, director of the Lagar de Sabariz winery and one of the group's founders, prefers to call them "vineyard workers," a very typical term in Málaga, where they even have their own brotherhood. "We're in the vineyard and at the fairs, we prune the vines, we make the wine, we take care of the paperwork, we manage the social media..."

The "artisans," as they call themselves, are regulars at major Spanish wine events, sporting their black aprons with pink lettering. They demonstrated this at Barcelona Wine Week and, a week earlier, with one of the most popular stands at Madrid Fusión, in The Wine Edition. And they don't just produce wines that wine lovers long to try; they champion a different way of understanding the industry.

At a time when the large-scale wine industry is experiencing a decline in consumption, these wineries seem to be thriving much better. Their customers are a relatively young demographic, who may drink less, but who want to drink better and in different ways. One winemaker sums it up: "At 60, I can say this: I don't want a customer that age who doesn't drink wine, but rather one who pays attention to the labels."

Some large wineries have launched their own initiatives. “Suddenly,” he remarks sarcastically, “everyone finds a vineyard abandoned years ago and revives it, boasting about producing only a few bottles. That wine will never be artisanal.” According to Artisan Wine Attraction, artisanal wine has a limited production (up to about 60,000 bottles), uses no commercial yeasts, has low sulfite content, and involves minimal intervention. It is neither a legal category nor a certified label.

“If you’re not a craftsman, you’re not a winemaker; you’re a company that does something else, whether it’s producing and selling computer components or wine,” Higuero points out from his winery in Galicia. Nor are they natural wines: “Almost all sulfite-free wines taste like applesauce; they lose all the essence of the grape variety and the terroir.” The association comprises nearly one hundred wineries, which are joined by recommendation from two members. “We’re not competitors,” Higuero emphasizes. “We’re collaborators, and part of our code is that we all help each other when necessary.”

At the latest edition of Madrid Fusión The Wine Edition, a tasting led by Santi Rivas, a great advocate of these wines, brought together a dozen wineries: the cavas of Maria Rigol Ordi, the Albariño La Floración from Lagar de Pedregales, the brisado Camino Llano from Vinos Llámalo X, between Albacete and La Palma, the Andorran Pinot Noir from Casa Auvinyà and the Vinos del Viento, from Californian Michael Cooper in Aragon.

“We don’t have labels, we have aprons,” Higuero jokes. They are, quite simply, wine artisans, not a brand or a passing fad, as they remind us in their manifesto.