Seipasa, a Spanish firm that specialises in the development and manufacture of biopesticides, biostimulants and fertilizers for agriculture, is demonstrating its reinforced commitment to organic wine through its sponsorship of the 20th edition of Ecoracimo, the International Organic Wine Contest. The event took place recently in Montilla (Cordoba, Spain) and was staged by Ecovalia, the Cordoba provincial council, and the town council of Montilla.
In the ‘Gran Oro’ category, six mentions have been awarded to the wines: PX Bio Bajosol 0/O Bodegas Robles; Castillo de Alicante Rosado 2018, by Bodegas COOP de Alicante COOPV (Bodegas Bocopa); V89 cosecha 2017, by L´Olivera SCCL; Eixaders 2018, by L'Olivera SCCL; Vega Vella Barrica 2017, by Bodegas Cornelio Dinastía de Rioja; and Corisca 2017, by Corisca SL. In addition, 52 mentions were awarded in the ‘Oro’ category and 47 in the ‘Plata’ category.
The awards were presented in Madrid at the same time as Organic Food Iberia, an international fair devoted entirely to the organic sector. Ecoracimo, a pioneer event in its category, has now run for 20 editions and has become a reference within the wine sector at international level.
In addition, this year saw a record number of participants at Ecoracimo. A total of 283 wines took part in the edition with the aim of cashing in on the contest’s growing professional reputation in the hope of being selected as the best organic wine in the world. That represents an increase of 85% over the last edition in 2018.
Juan Manuel Lopez, marketing director at Seipasa, said that the wine sector has initiated a “swing” towards organic products and emphasised the company’s desire to support wineries in this process. “Seipasa’s commitment is to stand alongside producers in their determination to foster organic production. Our intention is support them closely with our natural technology model, with innovative and technologically high-value solutions for producing residue-free crops with a high potential demand on the most demanding markets”, Lopez assured.
Record participation
This 20th edition of Ecoracimo also saw the largest ever number of wineries taking part with a total of 73. For contest co-ordinator, sommelier Miguel Angel Benito, the growth of Ecoracimo owes a great deal to the backing of leading brand-names. Benito insisted: “The industry is undergoing a period of transformation represented by an increasing number of wineries that have chosen to switch to organic production. We, at the last link in the chain before the end consumer, also notice that trend in the increasing preference shown by sommeliers for organic wines”.
In the same vein, Ecovalia corporate secretary, Diego Granado, stated that Ecoracimo’s evolution has run parallel to the growth in organic products in Spain, in which, he added: “11% of vineyard surface area is now organic”.
The Ecoracimo 2019 tasting/contest was directed by a total of 30 professional wine tasters grouped into teams of 6 judges who were responsible for grading each sample.