MANILA, Philippines—Andrew Tan’s Emperador Inc. will soon produce its flagship brandy brand out of its vineyard in Toledo, Spain, bringing its brand right to the European market.
With the “most modern vineyard” in Spain and also the largest dedicated to brandy production, Emperador expects to generate a 500 percent higher yield than average Spanish vineyards, Emperador said in a press statement.
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid professor José Ramón Lissarrague, who has over three decades of agricultural engineering expertise and was part of a team tapped to develop the best implementation strategies for the vineyard, said the vineyard had the most advanced technology in Spain.
“With its modern and technologically advanced design, Emperador’s vineyard in Toledo is expected to yield approximately 30,000 kilos of grapes per hectare. This is equivalent to five times the average yield of a typical Spanish vineyard,” said Lissarrague.
The professor had worked for many years with González Byass, one of the largest sherry, wine and brandy producers in Spain.
Emperador’s Toledo vineyard features state-of-the- art technology called “precision viticulture,” which is focused on promoting the high production of grapes while reducing production cost per kilogram.
This technology analyzes the sides of the plots and the length of the rows in the vineyard. The orientation of the rows and the distance between vines and rows have both been specifically designed and implemented using global positioning system (GPS), to help reduce the investment cost while taking advantage of the terrain, making the cultivation more cost-efficient.
A highly mechanized pruning method is likewise utilized, with strict adherence to a specific vine length.
“With precision viticulture, everything is considered—including when to turn off machinery in order to save on production costs,” said Jorge Domecq, managing director of Grupo Emperador Spain, S.A.
Economies of scale are essential to precision viticulture, which means large quantities of land and water are required. Emperador said its vineyard is about 500 hectares in size and the water necessary to the vineyard was amply supplied by the Tajo River, the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula stretching across Spain all the way to Portugal.
The vineyard uses a specially designed automated irrigation and monitoring system. Advanced sensors are spread throughout the vineyard, which constantly monitor the state of the soil, atmosphere and agricultural crops, the press release said.
Continuous monitoring allows important decisions to be made regarding irrigation and fertilization. Irrigation, filtration of the water and fertilization are automated, and can be controlled remotely from any place in the world using information technology.
During harvest season, the design of the rows once again allow for increased efficiency, as these have been adapted for mechanical harvest procedures.
Aside from advanced technology, location plays a vital part in the success of the vineyard. Toledo, the medieval capital of Spain, is located in La Mancha, the biggest wine- producing region in the world. Its weather conditions are ideal, with the hot and dry climate helping to ensure plant vigor.
“Emperador’s vineyard in Toledo is superior to other vineyards in La Mancha because its location does not experience frost during spring time. Frost could seriously affect the harvest,” Domecq said.
Emperador has acquired over a thousand hectares of prime vineyard land in Spain as part of its offshore expansion program since last year. This beverage firm is part of the Alliance Global Group of companies, a conglomerate engaged in real estate development, tourism entertainment and gaming, food and beverage and quick service restaurants.
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