There is a time of year when everything that happens in Altavins revolves around one thing: grapes.
The 2026 harvest has already begun. On August 17th we began the harvest at the Trufes estate, in Batea, with the Hairy Grenache destined for the Ilercavònia Rosé. At the same time, we have also begun to bring in the White Grenache into the winery.
And we still have one of the great protagonists of the campaign left: Cariñena, a variety that tends to have a longer ripening period and which, for this reason, we will harvest towards the end of the campaign.
Grenache Blanca, Grenache Peluda and Carignan form a trilogy of varieties especially linked to the winemaking identity of Terra Alta and are also three of the great pillars on which Altavins builds its project.
Because for us, the grape harvest is much more than just picking grapes. It is the moment when months of work in the vineyard culminate and a new vintage begins to take shape.
A harvest that begins in the vineyard
Before the first grapes reach the winery, there has been a whole year of work.
During the previous months we monitor the evolution of the vines, the maturation process and the health status of the grapes. When the time is right, we make one of the most important decisions of the entire campaign: when is the optimal time to harvest each variety and each estate.
Not all varieties ripen at the same rate. The Hairy Grenache was the first to star in the 2026 harvest, while the White Grenache has already begun to enter the cellar. Later on, the Carignan will arrive, which needs more time to reach the point of maturation we are looking for.
This difference between varieties is precisely one of the riches of the wine heritage of Terra Alta.
White Grenache, Hairy Grenache and Carignan: a trilogy with identity
Talking about wines from the DO Terra Alta is talking about a territory with a very unique winemaking heritage.
And among the varieties that best explain this identity we find Grenache Blanca, Grenache Peluda and Carignan.
White Grenache: the icon of Terra Alta
Grenache Blanca is, without a doubt, one of the most representative varieties of the DO Terra Alta.
The Mediterranean climate, the characteristics of the soil and the conditions of the territory allow it to express itself with a very marked personality. At Altavins it is one of the fundamental varieties of our project and one of the great protagonists of our oenology.
Hairy Grenache: the symbol of Altavins
If Grenache Blanca is an icon of Terra Alta, Grenache Peluda is one of the varieties that most identifies Altavins.
Our commitment to this variety is especially significant: Altavins was the first winery to produce a single-varietal Garnacha Peluda wine.
Today it is part of different wines in our catalog and is one of the expressions that best represents our desire to highlight native varieties.
Cariñena: the one who waits until the end
Cariñena will be one of the last varieties we will harvest this campaign.
Its maturation cycle tends to be longer and this means it needs more time in the vineyard before reaching the point we are looking for.
This wait has a reward: a variety with a great capacity to express character and depth and that completes this trilogy of varieties that we consider so special for understanding the winemaking identity of Terra Alta.
Grenache Blanca, Grenache Peluda and Carignan. Three varieties, three personalities and the same territory.
Manual harvest: quality begins with selection
At Altavins, the entire harvest is done manually.
It’s not just a matter of tradition. It’s a decision directly linked to the quality and control of the grapes that arrive at the winery.
Manual harvesting allows us to select the grapes during harvest and discard those that do not meet our criteria. The selected grapes are carefully placed in palots, ensuring that they arrive at the winery in the best possible conditions.
It is a more demanding way of working, which requires more time and more hands, but which allows us to better control each step of the process.
Because the quality of a wine begins long before the winery: it begins in the vineyard.
From the vine to the cellar: 24 hours in the cold
When the grapes arrive at the winery, the process continues.
The grapes enter a cold room for approximately 24 hours, at a temperature of between 2 and 4 °C.
This cooling process allows us to work the grapes at a low temperature before starting the production and favors the preservation of their characteristics.
One of the objectives is to achieve a high aromatic extraction from the grape skins, where a large part of the compounds that contribute to the aromatic expression of the wine are found.
This care in the first hours after harvest is especially important when we want to preserve the character of each variety as much as possible.
Experiencing the harvest: wine tourism in the middle of the campaign
The grape harvest is one of the busiest times of the year at Altavins.
But that doesn’t mean we close our doors to visitors. During the harvest weeks we continue to offer visits and wine tourism experiences at the winery.
In fact, we consider it to be one of the best times to come and discover Altavins.
During a visit during the harvest, the experience goes far beyond the traditional wine tasting. Depending on the time of the campaign, visitors can see firsthand how the grapes arrive at the winery, discover the selection process and even taste the freshly harvested grapes and must.
It is a way to discover wine from the beginning: from grapes to must and from must to wine.
And then, obviously, it’s time to taste the final result with our wines.
Therefore, if you want to live a different wine tourism experience in Terra Alta, the grape harvest is a particularly recommended time to visit us.
You can check out our experiences and book your visit to Altavins through our wine tourism page.
An experience to understand the territory
Visiting a winery during the harvest allows you to understand many things that are difficult to explain with words alone.
It allows you to see the work of the people behind the wine, touch the grapes, taste them, discover the must and understand how each decision made in the vineyard ends up having consequences on the wine we will find in the glass.
At Altavins we want our wine tourism in Batea to be precisely this: a gateway to our project, but also to the landscape, varieties and wine culture of Terra Alta and Terres de l’Ebre.
The 2026 harvest has just begun
On August 17th we started with the Hairy Grenache from the Trufes estate.
Now we continue with the White Grenache and, when the time comes, it will be the turn of the Cariñena.
We still have many weeks of work left, many early mornings, many hours in the vineyard and many steps to enter the winery. But we also have the beginning of a new story ahead of us.
The story of the 2026 vintage of Altavins.
A story that begins with three varieties that are part of our identity:
White Grenache. Hairy Grenache. Carignan.
Three varieties, three personalities and a territory that makes them unique.
The grape harvest has already begun. And we invite you to come and experience it.
