About

Vinyes Tortuga

Vinyes Tortuga is run by winemakers Dido & Jurriaan who share one common passion: wine. They have traveled from vineyard to vineyard learning how to make wine all over the world. They have finally settled down in the region of Alt Emporda in Spain, where they bought 9,5 hectares of planted vineyards in the natural reserve of L'Albera. In the coming years they will be converting their organic vineyards to biodynamic principles.

After working a year in the Emporda, they found a 9,5 hectare plot for sale. Dido & Jurriaan managed to find investors who were willing to buy the vineyards and cellar material. With this new opportunity, they now make wine from from their very own grapes: In the coming years their focus will be to restore the vineyards and to convert them to biodynamic vineyards while also grafting other (white) varieties. Dido & Jurriaan also bought a house that is surrounded by the vines, in which we are living now. They installed solar panels and use water from the well, with a newly created permaculture veggie garden at their front door.

Dido & Jurriaan have always dreamed about having their very own vineyard. Coming from Amsterdam, they decided work hard and save up some money to eventually buy a vineyard and become winemakers. Jurriaan studied Engineering, and after graduating he built a travel agency for low impact private journeys to South East Asia. Dido was doing research in South Africa for her master in Cultural Anthropology on the Swartland Independent Producers, a group of young winemakers making delicious wines. There she realized that all those winemakers were following their dream right at that moment. By learning from different winemakers all over the world, they eventually put their foot down in the Swartland and start making wine. Eventually, the came to realized, “why not follow our dream right now, while we are young and fit?” And so they did.

They both completed internships in South Africa, Chile, France and in three different regions in Spain: Penedès, Priorat/Montsant and Conca de Barberà. In February 2018 they did an internship in the Barossa Valley in Australia with natural wine producer Tom Shobbrook. All those internships were based on cellar work, where they learned how to make quality wine. From their newly gained experience they came up their own philosophy: making wine in its purest form, without additions of yeast, nutrients, tannins, or anything else. They now work without pumps, and only move the wine through gravity and they don't fine or filter; They just want to make natural wine in its purest form. Unfortunately, as many of us know, the word 'natural' is a misused term, and a lot of producers claim they are “natural”, but the average consumer isn't aware of what can be added during the wine production process. Dido & Jurriaan are now making delicious quality wine on their own terms in the beautiful region of Catalonia.