Since two years we are the owners of 9,5 hectare of planted vineyards (age between 11-17 years) in the natural park of the Albera, in the Alt-Empordà. We are both from Amsterdam, and now are living among our vineyards, in a small house with only solar power and water from our well. A big change, but we are very happy. We first travelled the wine world for 5 years, learning from different people spread all over the world. We worked in South Africa, Chile, Australia and a couple of times in Catalunya, a region that soon conquered our hearts. Before finding our vineyards, we worked for one whole year in a vineyard of a bigger company in the same region, to really find out if we were capable of taking care of a vineyard full time. Since our internship with Joan Ramon Escoda in Conca de Barbera, we´ve been hooked on natural wine and never looked back. Working with him opened our eyes that the wine is made in the vineyard, not the cellar, and that the work in the cellar should be about guiding the grapes into juice and eventually wine, without intervention. So, our focus lies in farming the best way we can – no ploughing or tilling the soil, sowing cover crops for a healthy top layer, and spraying preparations 500 and 501, with Maria Thun compost as well. Our philosophy as well as our goal is to have the healthiest vineyards possible, that create the most beautiful fruit that don´t need any additions in the cellar. So far we have two harvest under our belt from our Vinyes Tortuga, and more and more we are understanding our vineyards. We have slate and schist soils that we now pick up in our wines. We harvest relatively early, to make use of the natural acidity in the grape. We destem by hand, ferment the berries in plastic bins, steel or amfora and they age in oak, steel or amfora. We don´t add sulphur or other products to our wines.