“DIVIÑAS” (divine/vineyard) WOMEN: A SOLIDARITY AND PURE TALENT MEETING

When talent, passion and wine come together, only projects as unique as «Diviñas Women», can emerge, a solidarity initiative that was born four years ago and which has overcome all the challenges proposed during the meetings held. In addition, renowned Aragonese wine-lovers women have managed all the events and throughout this time, there has been an extensive tour of the Aragonese Designations of Origin and the Vinos de la Tierra de Aragón.

After the first meeting, the Diviñas Club of Zaragoza was created, the only society of wine -lover women in Aragón. The event has become one of the most outstanding wine events in the community, with groups of friends who want to have a good time and familiar faces on the Aragonese scene. This association has managed, throughout this time, to bring together wineries, winemakers, technical directors, presidents, sommeliers … and a host of positions linked to the world of wine. Without a doubt, it is a meeting of pure talent.

It all started in 2017. That year, sommelier Eugenia Blanco had a dream: to bring together a hundred women in a single tasting to toast to life. To achieve this, he relied on the experience of two great professionals who have accompanied her since then: the renowned sommelier and wine trainer, who dedicates her life to gastronomic communication and the export of wine for different wineries, Marta Tornos, and the perfumer from Zaragoza Isabel Guerrero, able to identify the typicality of each variety of grape.

So, with professionalism and great enthusiasm, they managed to create the first “Diviñas Women” meeting, in which the challenge dreamed by Eugenia was achieved. This solidarity action, which allocates part of its collection to the fight against cancer, was held at the Villa Felice Kiosk, the old Zaragoza greyhound track.

In this case, four well-known women linked to wine were in charge of carrying out the tastings. Through their extensive experience, they took a tour of the characteristics of each of them. For this, Eugenia Blanco counted on the collaboration of Teresa Ferrer, a winery who has dedicated her life to the wine sector and who runs, together with her brother, their family business, Finca Valonga; Susana Ruberte, the first oenologist in Aragón who has a long history in the production of cava and whose extensive experience and love for wine has been acquired from a young age with the family business of Bodegas Ruberte; Isabel Guerrero and Marta Tornos.

In this first meeting, in which 600 euros were raised, the main protagonists were the wines. Thus, it was possible to taste a 12 Lunas white chardonnay from the El Grillo y la Luna winery, belonging to the Somontano Protected Designation of Origin; a Hacienda Molleda rosé garnacha from the Hacienda Molleda winery, belonging to the Cariñena Protected Designation of Origin; a Tres Teresas selection red wine from Finca Valonga, belonging to Vinos de la Tierra; and a Camino del Moncayo cava from Bodegas Monasterio de Veruela, belonging to the Cava Regulatory Council.

NEW CHALLENGE: 180 WOMEN

Due to the great success of the first meeting, Eugenia Blanco, Marta Tornos and Isabel Guerrero decided to pursue a new challenge in 2018: to bring together 180 women in a unique tasting at the well-known Plata Cabaret in Zaragoza.

On this occasion, nd against all odds, they once again met the challenge again, even weeks before it was held, and managed to raise 1.000 euros for the fight against cancer. The creators of «Diviñas Women» once again relied on great professionals from the world of wine for this second year, which they called “Edición únicas” (Unique Edition), as the women who led the tastings were unique in their work for one reason or another.

Silvia Tomé, winemaker and owner of the Quinta Mazuela winery, belonging to the Cariñena Protected Designation of Origin, participated in this second meeting. She is the only Aragonese woman to appear in the book “La reina de copas. The great women of wine”, written by Zoltan Nagy; Raquel Latre, president of the Somontano Protected Designation of Origin, the only woman to hold that position in Aragón; and Paula Yago, manager of Bodegas Tempore, is the only winery in Aragón whose cultivation is certified as organic in its entirety.

The wines chosen for this second edition were a 2017 Gewürztraminer white from Viñas del Vero, belonging to the Somontano Protected Designation of Origin. Besides, an ecological red Generación 73 garnacha 2016 from Bodegas Tempore, belonging to the Vinos de la Tierra del Bajo Aragón. Also, a red wine from Quinta Mazuela 2013 – international RUBI award in the 2018 Wine and Woman Contest -, belonging to the Cariñena Protected Designation of Origin. Finally, a Wine Wings Flamenco 2017 Rosé from Bodegas Ignacio Marín, also belonging to the Cariñena PDO.

THE MOST CROWDED EDITION

In addition, as it is often said «there are no two without three» Blanco, Tornos and Guerrero organized a third meeting of “Diviñas Women” in 2019. The Tres Mares restaurant in Zaragoza was the place chosen to celebrate this third edition where they broke the record for the solidarity tasting made up of the largest number of women in Aragón. In total, there were 190 women who participated that year in which 1.100 euros were raised for the fight against cancer.

In 2019, the outstanding women in the world of wine who guided the tasting were Ana Meler Subías, winemaker and technical director of Bodegas Meler, belonging to the Somontano PDO. In addition, Yolanda Díaz, managing director of Bodegas San Alejandro, belonging to the Calatayud PDO; Marta Tornos; and, as a special guest, Carmen Garrobo Martínez, director and specialist teacher in Sensory Analysis of the Spanish School of Tasting in Madrid.

The wines chosen to surprise in this third meeting were a MWA Blanc de Noirs by Meler from Bodegas Meler, belonging to the Somontano Protected Designation of Origin; a Meler Limited Edition Cabernet Sauvignon rosé, also from Bodegas Meler, a Garnacha from old Baltasar vines from Bodegas San Alejandro, belonging to the Protected Designation of Origin Calatayud, and a Garnacha Rosé from Bodegas Esteban Martín, belonging to the Cariñena PDO.

2020: ONLINE MEETING

In 2020, circumstances did not allow the fourth edition of “Diviñas Women” to be held in person, so on July 1, an online toast was made from Bodegas Tempore (Lécera), in which fifty hundred women participated of and where 350 euros were raised for the fight against cancer.

During the meeting, the general director of Innovation and Agrifood Promotion of the Government of Aragón, Carmen Urbano, took part, who wanted to show her support for the solidarity initiative, and also the head of economic sustainability of the Spanish Association against Cancer in Zaragoza, Patricia Serrano, who thanked the action and the contribution made over the years.

DIVIÑAS ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

In addition to all these meetings, the Club «Diviñas Women» organizes another series of activities such as tastings and visits to Aragonese wineries. One of the most outstanding was in 2018 with the celebration of the first anniversary in the Espacio Aura in Zaragoza. It was attended by a large number of members who did not want to miss an event in which there was a broad overview of the first year of this initiative, which had left “surprising” data.

Wine could not be lacking in the celebration either and three wines from Bodegas Bal Minuta were tasted -Vino de las Nieves 2017, Espumoso de las Nieves 2016 and a liqueur wine- and the “S” wine from Pago Aylés.

The meetings of “Diviñas Women” have managed to bring together in just four editions about half a thousand women and have raised 3,050 euros for the fight against cancer. At this time, the Diviñas Club of Zaragoza has 450 members.