Talking about wine quality often leads us to think of barrels, wineries, or winemaking processes. However, those of us who have worked the land for generations know that a great wine begins long before the harvest. It begins in the vineyard, with the daily care of each vine and respect for the rhythms of nature.Talking about wine quality often leads us to think of barrels, wineries, or winemaking processes. However, those of us who have worked the land for generations know that a great wine begins long before the harvest. It begins in the vineyard, with the daily care of each vine and respect for the rhythms of nature.
At Bodegas Bellod, we have always maintained that the best winemaking cannot compensate for mediocre raw materials. Therefore, our philosophy is based on a simple idea: quality is cultivated from the very beginning. At Mas del Nen, every decision we make in the vineyard has a single objective: to obtain grapes capable of expressing the full potential of the terroir.
Un gran vino empieza antes de la vendimia
The real work begins many months earlier.
The soil, the orientation of the plots, the climate, the rainfall and the temperature differences between day and night are factors that directly influence the quality of each bunch.
At Mas del Nen, we understand the vineyard as a living organism that needs balance. That's why one of the most important decisions we make each year is to voluntarily limit production.
Our priority has never been to obtain more kilos of grapes, but to obtain better grapes.
Through strategic pruning, we regulate the number of grape bunches that remain on each vine. While a vineyard could produce around six kilos of grapes, we limit that production to approximately four kilos per plant.
Why do it?
Because by reducing the crop load, the vine can distribute its nutrients much more evenly among all the grape bunches. The result is grapes with greater aromatic concentration, better ripening, and far superior quality.
It's a decision that involves producing less, but also making wines with much more personality.
The vineyard as a starting point
The work in the vineyard does not end with pruning.
Each harvest requires constant monitoring to ensure that only the best grapes reach the winery.
At Bodegas Bellod we have developed a system that combines the advantages of the two great harvesting techniques: manual selection and the efficiency of mechanized harvesting.
Before starting the machine harvest, we carry out an initial manual selection in the vineyard itself.
This preliminary work allows us to eliminate those bunches that do not meet our quality standards and keep only the best fruit.
We then used mechanized harvesting to collect the previously selected grapes, considerably reducing the harvesting time.
This combination offers us the best of both systems: the precision of manual selection and the speed needed to harvest each plot at its optimal moment of ripeness.
Because quality also depends on picking each bunch at the right moment.
Mas del Nen: where our philosophy is born
To speak of Mas del Nen is to speak of the origin of our way of understanding wine.
The estate was acquired in 1998 with a very clear objective: to continue making wines in a traditional way, respecting the environment and opting for a self-sustaining model.
Since then, all decisions made on the farm have followed the same philosophy: to produce responsibly to guarantee the quality of the present without compromising the future.
Therefore, Mas del Nen incorporates different sustainability measures that are part of the daily life of the farm.
We have solar panels to cover energy consumption, a water reservoir that optimizes the use of this resource, and a work system aimed at minimizing the use of pesticides and plant protection products.
Our goal has never been to intervene more, but to intervene better.
Respecting the landscape, caring for biodiversity and maintaining the natural balance of the vineyard have been part of our way of working for decades.
Today, sustainability is present in many advertising campaigns.
For us, it has never been a marketing strategy.
It has been, and continues to be, a conviction.
We firmly believe that a healthy vineyard produces better grapes and that only through respect for the land can wines be made that are capable of authentically reflecting the territory from which they come.
Quality is not created in the winery
There is a widespread idea that attributes all the quality of a wine to the work done in the winery.
The reality is very different.
A winery can preserve the quality of a great grape.
He can protect her.
You can respect it.
You can even improve certain aspects through careful preparation.
But there is something that no winery can do.
But there is something that no winery can do.
That's why we emphasize vineyard work so much.
Because when the raw material is excellent, the role of the producer is to intervene as little as possible so that the wine expresses the full personality of the territory.
