El Escoces Volante(By M.W Norrel Robertson)

Owner and winemaker, Norrel Robertson became a Master of Wine in 2000 and in 2003 he gained a Post-Graduate Diploma in Viticulture and Enology from Lincoln University, New Zealand. In 2020, he was inducted into the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino.

Ours is a family business, with Norrel’s wife, Sharon, and sons, James and Will, all playing an active part in the vineyards and in the office.

Quality

We strongly believe that quality wine is born in the vineyard and we endeavour to make authentic wines that are a quintessential expression of their terroir. We believe in delivering high quality wines at fair prices. Every wine tells its own story and so do our labels: we celebrate our love of our adopted country and its amazing history, local colour and quirks in the names and images on our wine labels.

Sustainability

Sustainability is key and for us, this means building our business with an eye always on the impact our actions have on the quality of the product, the environment and on the local community. In the vineyards, we have implemented organic viticultural practices since 2014 and have recently started the certification process.

All our team members receive expert training annually from renowned Spanish viticulturalist Julio Prieto, in pruning and shoot thinning techniques to ensure the health and longevity of the vines. We don’t overcrop, we don’t irrigate (with the exception of some of our new plantings during extreme heatwaves such as the one we are experiencing now in 2022) and we don’t use pesticides. We maintain a cover crop during the winter months to promote soil health but we till as summer approaches to reduce fire risk. In 2022, we witnessed first-hand the positive results of tilling, as wildfires ravaged 14,000 hectares around us yet our vineyards were not affected.

We have recently invested in a kiln to create our own biochar from vine cuttings: this contributes to carbon sequestration, mitigating the effects of climate change and also increases water retention in the soil.

As for the winery side of our operation, we recently began using a material which is a combination of sugar cane and hemp paper for around 95% of our wine labels and they are 100% recyclable.

Our current bottles are made with 88% recycled glass and we are in the process of changing to a lighter bottle, reducing glass content from 650g to 445g. This will contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions in transport amounting to a 24% reduction in the overall transport weight of the final product and a 32% reduction in glass.

Community

We believe in forming an integral part of the communities in which we live and operate, supporting initiatives and communities in local villages and employing staff who bring generations of experience and local knowledge. We currently have a fantastic vineyard team from the local village of Aniñon, a lovely village with a long agricultural history.