In 2022, Monica and her daughter Estrella decided to create their own label, Vinos Libres por Mujeres (Free Wines for Women), and made a first wine: Wild Fermentation, an ancestral (Pet Nat) of Bobal, the red grape variety typical of the Utiel-Requena region and La Mancha.
Carbonic maceration
Carbonic maceration, also known as intracellular maceration, is a winemaking method devised in 1935 by French oenologist Michel Flanzy. It produces light, fruity and aromatic red wines through a unique fermentation technique known as anaerobic metabolism, which encourages fermentation within the grape berries themselves before traditional pressing takes place. The process involves placing whole grape bunches, with their skins intact, into a hermetically sealed tank, most often stainless steel or concrete. In the absence of oxygen, the grapes at the bottom of the tank begin to naturally release carbon dioxide. The grapes at the top exert pressure on those below, causing some berries to burst and triggering fermentation inside the whole berries.
Monica tells us the story behind Vinos Libres por Mujeres and the ancestral Wild Fermentation in a fifteen-minute interview in Spanish.