Celler Les Foes
Celler Les Foes of Les Coves de Vinromà, Castelló is a free vines project headed by Roger Diaz. The former full-time high school history teacher (now part-time due to the bodega’s success) oversees 3ha of predominantly indigenous grape varieties to the Castelló region. A once thriving area for hundreds of years, Les Coves de Vinromà vines were largely forgotten or replaced with the cash crops du jour over the second half of the 20th century. Roger seeks to ensure centuries-old wine making methods have their rightful place in the local lexicon and collective consciousness of the region.
Roger first planted his vines in 2007, crafting his first vintage in 2014. He has also inherited old vines of Macabeu and Embolicaire, ranging from 53 to 80 years of age. The vineyards are treated with zero synthetic treatments, no sulphur is used in the cellar and the bodega is Certified Organic. His vineyards have never known the touch of pesticides or herbicides. Winemaking is done with minimal intervention. All fermentations are done whole-cluster as he does not have a de-stemming machine. Long macerations take place in amphora, steel and French Oak, often using the Roman technique of micro-oxygenation with clay amphorae.
Roger describes his wines as “just grapes” while humbly acting as a steward of the land and the vines, carrying forward a vibrant and pure expression into the bottle.
