Salomón Abedrop López
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Wine offers us unforgettable experiences, including wine tastings, visits to wineries and wine routes. To delve deeper into this world of wine, our representative in Mexico City, Alfredo Espinola, interviewed Salomón Abedrop López, president of the Mexican Wine Council (CMV) and owner of the Hacienda Florida winery in Coahuila, Mexico.
When was the Hacienda Florida vineyard born?
The Hacienda Florida vineyard was established 13 years ago, starting with the planting of 5 hectares, and today it consists of 20 hectares. It is worth mentioning that before starting to plant vines, these hectares were planted with walnut trees, as they are very common in that area. With 80 hectares planted it was a very profitable business until the water wells began to diminish. The problems with the water supply forced us to remove the walnut trees and plant the 20 hectares of vines that we currently have.
Why did you launch the vineyard?
As I mentioned, I used to harvest walnut trees that took 7 to 8 years to bear their first nuts, so I was investing a lot and it became unsustainable. Someone recommended that I start planting chilaca peppers, green pepper, coriander and courgettes. We exported the entire production to the United States through a dealer, but that didn’t work out, which led me to think, what can we grow to maintain the ranch? A friend of mine, whose ranch bordered mine, told me that he was growing grapes and making his own wine. When I tasted his wine I was amazed.
That's how I made up my mind and I had studies done of the land, the water and the climate. There wasn't much to investigate as Saltillo has a very favorable climate for grapes. Our first harvest was in 2014, Casa Madero helped us make our wine from 2015 to 2018, they not only helped us make the wine, but also to plant the grapes and how to make the winery. From 2018 we had our own winery, we started to make it ourselves. Today this project has allowed us to work with the vine, the grape, it has given us the opportunity to get to know this world of wine.
What grape varieties does the Hacienda Florida vineyard have?
Our first harvest was 3 tons of grapes, divided between Cabernet, Sauvignon and Malbec. I asked the oenologist to make wine from each of them, but he told me it wasn't possible as there weren't enough grapes. He said we would make a single wine with all the grapes, so we made a blend that turned out very well. Over time, our grape production increased to the point where we were able to make wine with each of our varieties.
On the 20 hectares planted at Hacienda Florida, we now have five grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Syrah, Malbec and Verdejo, and in the future we will have Tempranillo. Our winery has nine labels:
· White wine
· Rosé wine
· Red wine blend
· 4-grape blend
· Malbec
· Cabernet Sauvignon
· Cabernet Sauvignon - Shiraz
· Gran reserva Caberbet Sauvignon - Shiraz
· Reserva Shiraz - Grenache
Where is your wine sold?
Our wines are mainly sold in establishments for consumption at a national and international level. We export to the United States and have managed to place it in states such as Texas, Nevada, California and New Jersey (editor’s note: The wine is imported to the United States by La Competencia Imports.)
Why visit Hacienda Florida?
Unlike most of the wineries in Mexico, we are a winery in a desert area. Another characteristic is that the area where we are located was once a large dinosaur graveyard. Many dinosaur remains have been found, and a Desert Museum has even been created that exhibits many real dinosaur bones. Similarly, about four years ago the state government decided that one way to promote tourism was to create the wine and dinos route (wines and dinosaurs), and all the wineries that received tourists were given a replica of the dinosaurs they exhibited in the museum. The copy we received was of the remains found near our ranch, and that's what makes the difference with other vineyards, apart from the experience of touring the vineyards.
How does Hacienda Florida encourage new generations to get closer to the world of wine?
We are developing a project to can our wine, specifically white wine and rosé wine, as well as making a wine with less alcohol.
What makes you most proud of Hacienda Florida?
Hacienda Florida is a family business. Together with my wife, the sommelier Cecilia Murillo, and our children, we have produced very high quality wine that has allowed us to compete with the best wines in the world, participating in different international events and achieving recognition with more than forty medals with the support of the winemaker Debanhi Alejandra Torres.
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