The quality of our wines begins in the vineyards.
THE VINES
Bodegas Pandora has large distinctive vineyards, which guarantees that the grapes are of a similar quality. The vineyards are located on several estates in the municipalities of Rueda, Nueva Villa de las Torres, El Campillo, Torrecilla de la Orden and Olmedo.
Bodega Pandora’s oldest vineyards date back to 1980 and on average they are 25 years old. It can be said that they are at a perfect age to ensure an ideal balance between production and quality. 100% of the plantation is grown on espaliers, we do not intend to produce high yields, rather we strive to obtain grapes of the highest quality possible.
Currently the vineyards mainly grow the verdejo variety (90%), considered to be the king of the white variety in the Castile and Leon region. The other small percentage is dedicated to Sauvignon Blanc (10%), originally from the French Bordeaux region, which in Spain is only found in DO Rueda and DO Penedés.
We enhance the quality of our wines from the very beginning, in the vineyard, by performing specific tasks to help the plant improve the quality of the fruit, like summer pruning, (after bud break and fruit set, any excesses are removed to ensure top quality production), and bunch thinning. (Before the ripening process finishes, more bunches are removed to improve the quality, thereby obtaining a maximum yield per hectare of 6,000 kg.)
THE SOIL
Soil is important as the plant roots absorb substances from it. These substances are different according to the type of soil. Unique soils produce unique wine.
Bodega Pandora’s soils are different and distinctive in each plot:
Sandy and gravelly soils: These soils contribute aromatic intensity to our wines and facilitate water drainage. They also prevent too much humidity, they facilitate the reflection of light and control fungal growth on the plant, thus achieving a better ripening process.
Sandy pebbly soils: This type of soil facilitates permeability and the drainage of vineyards, another characteristic of this soil is that the light colour of the pebbles reflects sunlight, which helps to regulate the temperature of the plant.
Clay soils: These soils have a better capacity to retain water and nutrients. The resulting wines are elegant and structured thanks to the longer cycles, this generates higher amounts of polyphenols during ripening.
It has been proven that high quality wines come from dryer soils, poor in organic materials and lime.