VIña Memorias Family Winery
Our indigenous
grapes
Tinto
Tinto
Tinto
Our terroir
Our terroir
Our terroir
Where Tradition Meets the Vine
How a family winery in Spain is producing some of the world's most carefully made kosher wines - organically farmed, double-certified, and rooted in eight centuries of heritage.
A Story That Begins in the Vineyard
Every September, when the first light breaks over the highlands of Utiel-Requena, our harvest begins. The mornings are cool at 800 meters of elevation - a dry, bright cold that sharpens the senses and concentrates the fruit still hanging on vines that have been here for over a hundred years. But at Viña Memorias, the harvest is not only a winemaker's event. Before a single grape is crushed, our mashgiach - the kosher supervisor - is already in the vineyard. When the first bins arrive at the winery, he is there. When the press begins to turn, he is there. And he will remain there, overseeing every pump, every valve, every seal, until the last label is applied to the last bottle, months later. This is what kosher winemaking looks like at the highest level. Not a stamp on a label. A way of making wine.
In the Footsteps of the Rambam
Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon - the Rambam, known to the wider world as Maimonides - was born in Córdoba, Spain, in 1138. Physician, philosopher, and one of the greatest codifiers of Jewish law in history, he built the halachic framework that still governs kosher winemaking today. As a doctor, he recommended wine in moderation. As a connoisseur (wine writer Adam Montefiore called him "the first Jewish wine connoisseur"), he preferred quality wine for ritual: not boiled, not sweetened - a principle that speaks directly to the modern craft of artisanal kosher wine. Our inaugural wine line Memorias del Rambam, is named in his honor. A tribute to the Sephardic heritage of Spanish Jewry, and to a simple idea: wine made with intention is not merely permitted. It is elevated. Producing kosher wine in Spain, in the land where the Rambam himself once lived, is not a coincidence for us. It is a return.
Our Certifications: OU, MKL, and Beyond
Viña Memorias holds dual kosher certification - a standard very few wineries anywhere in the world maintain.Orthodox Union (OU) - The world's most recognized kosher symbol, present in over 105 countries. From New York to Tel Aviv, the OU on our bottles means the highest international kosher standards. MKL - Kedassia (Rabbi Padwa / London Beth Din) - Deeply trusted across the United Kingdom and Europe. An additional layer of supervision reflecting the meticulous Padwa tradition. Together, these certifications mean our wines are accepted across virtually every kosher-observant community in the world - Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrachi alike. All of our wines are Kosher for Passover. Our kosher supervision is led by Rav Shalom Ber Binshtock, Rabbi Chabad of Valencia, working in close coordination with both agencies - present from harvest through the final label.
Going Further: ללא ראייה עכו"ם
Beyond the standard requirements of kosher certification, Viña Memorias upholds an additional measure of stringency known as ללא ראייה עכו"ם: throughout the entire production process, our wine is neither touched nor seen by non-Jewish workers. While halacha requires that non-Jews do not handle the wine, we go further - adopting a centuries-old practice, upheld by leading rabbinical authorities, that extends protection to sight itself. This requires careful coordination of our cellar operations and reflects our philosophy that when it comes to kosher integrity, we choose the highest standard available, not the most convenient one.
Kosher and Organic: A Rare Combination
Viña Memorias is one of very few wineries in the world that holds both kosher and EU organic certification at the same time.Our organic certification is issued by the CAECV (Comité de Agricultura Ecológica de la Comunitat Valenciana), an official certifying body recognized by the European Union under EU Regulation 2018/848 - the same standard applied across all 27 EU member states. No synthetic pesticides. No artificial fertilizers. Strict sulfite limits. Full traceability. Running both certifications simultaneously is a genuine challenge. Each imposes its own audits, documentation, and rules - and both must be satisfied at the same time, without conflict. Very few producers take this on. We do it because we believe that if you are going to make wine with intention - honoring tradition, respecting the land - you should do it fully. Not halfway.
Why We Do It This Way
At Viña Memorias, we have never seen kosher certification as a ceiling. It is a foundation. Everything we build - the organic farming, the old vines, the Thermoflash technology from Bordeaux for our mevushal wines, the dual certification, the ללא ראייה עכו"ם stringency - stands on top of it. Kosher winemaking does not ask us to make lesser wine. It asks us to make wine with greater care. And that is exactly what we do. Want to learn more about our winemaking process? Read the full story on our blog.
Old Vines, Deep Roots
Hidden in our vineyards are ungrafted Bobal vines that have been growing on their own roots for over a hundred years. They survived the phylloxera epidemic that destroyed most of European viticulture in the late 19th century. They are still here - gnarled, low-yielding, and producing fruit of extraordinary concentration. Old vines like these are rare anywhere in the world. Old vines that are also organically farmed, kosher-supervised, and bottled under dual OU and MKL certification may be unique.When a mashgiach watches over grapes from a vine planted before the First World War, something rare happens: the ancient and the sacred converge in the same bottle.