“Wine is light, held together by water.” – Galileo
Planting a new vineyard in Mendoza, Argentina, can be a delicate and often complicated task. Mendoza is a desert, and as in all deserts, water is a scarce resource.
Altos Las Hormigas, after several years of digging pits and studying the soil to better reflect the Terroir of Mendoza, and to better express the Malbec variety, bought a piece of land in Altamira, a sub-zone of the Uco Valley. The issue was that, beyond the beautiful soils and the opportunity to grow a vineyard where Malbec could develop nice chalky tannins and pure, fresh fruit, there were no water rights in the region. That was until recently, when Altos Las Hormigas received the “green light” to start drilling our well so we could plant the vineyard.
The site of the future Altos Las Hormigas Malbec vineyard in Altamira.
On June 23, 2015, part of the Altos Las Hormigas team braved the winter cold and went to visit the site of the future vineyard in search of the optimal place to drill a well – the source of life for any vineyard. The countryside is rugged, untouched and the only inhabitants are the horses and mules from the neighboring estancias that roam the land.
Horses and mules visit the Altos team as they search for the water table.
Our team enlisted the help of a local, Francisco, a farmer and water hunter whose nickname is “El Gorrión” (The Sparrow) to mark points on our virgin land where groundwater might be running. Thanks to an ancient system called Rabdomancia or Radiestesia, Francisco uses a pitchfork (a freshly cut, Y-shaped wicker stick) that senses the pressure and energy of the water found below the ground.
Francisco begins searching for groundwater in the future Altos Las Hormigas vineyard in Altamira.
Francisco explained that water from the Andes runs from south to north, so walking in both directions until the tension in the fork makes it rise at a 90-degree angle was key to finding possible drilling locations. Our team marked each location during the search, and those points will be the optimal drilling zones.
The Altos Las Hormigas team measures and marks where groundwater might be found in the future Altamira vineyard.
Just as Altos Las Hormigas listens to the Terroir to make wines expressive of the soils and Malbec, we look to others who listen to the soil and water to help us on our way to a beautiful new vineyard.
Eureka!