Marine life in the reef

During these days of quarantine, due to the state of alarm, in which we have been confined at home and forced to stop doing our usual activities, nature has noticed it. Surely you have received numerous videos and photographs in which you can see goats, roe deers, wild boars… taking the streets. This does not only happen out there, it also happens in the sea.

Recently a whale was spotted entering the Abra and this past week we have had the pleasure of seeing dolphins in the bay of Plentzia passing right over our underwater cellar. Every year we receive their visit, but this year, they have come closer to the coast and have stayed longer.

All this makes us think about how exuberant the marine life in our reef might be, as it is a time of pause and recovery for nature. It is true that nature needs much more time to recover from the human pressure placed on it, however, little by little, we are seeing how animals and plants have been grateful for this rest.

As many of you already know, our winery is not only an underwater cellar but also an artificial reef designed to help the recovery of marine life in the area. We are proud to be the first artificial reef cellar in the world. The winery is located in a tidal zone with a sandy bottom that changes to stone slabs every few months. This way the winery has become a refuge for many species by acting as a micro marine protected area.

Throughout these ten years we have observed the evolution of the state of the ecosystem and the different species of fauna and flora that form it. In a matter of years, more than 100 species have sought refuge in them and each year the number of species has increased to its maximum capacity.  Today, we know that it is a stable, complex and diverse ecosystem that has native species of the area, just as it should be.

Within our team, we count on divers and a marine biologist, Anna Riera, who carry out the periodic monitoring of the winery, with the collaboration of the Dr. Marc Terradas, to evaluate the biodiversity and the state of the ecosystem , preparing an annual report, with the production of drinks according to strict quality controls.

We can’t wait to dive in and see for ourselves how our reef-cellar is doing, to observe all its natural splendour: the fish swimming peacefully, the algae, the crabs, the shrimps, the scorpions and octopuses camouflaged and attentive to any movement… unaware of everything that has happened in the world that we call “real”. And alongside them, some of our wines, which after spending the whole winter, are waiting to be extracted from the bottom of the Bay of Plentzia.

Surely after this period of inactivity, it will be as if we were entering a kind of underwater “jungle”… in darkness, silence and movement… We will tell you all about it when we dive.