We could tell you lots about Son Alegre wines, Mallorcan wines in general or our grape varieties and so forth but we prefer to direct you to the basics of wine making. Soil is the main ingredient for wine making, believe it or not. There would be no wine without the soil and there would be no wine of any quality if wine makers did not respect the soil, if we did not regard nature as a holistic organism, if farmers did not esteem the elements and if society did not adopt the philosophy of working with instead of against nature.

According to Bruce Charles “Bill” Mollison (born 1928 in Stanley, Tasmania):

Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system.

Introduction to Permaculture, Bill Mollison, Tasmania, Australia: Tagari (1991)

Yesterday, May 3rd 2015, Vinya Son Alegre was invited to participate in an event celebrating the International Day of Permaculture at Caroline Sulzer’s Finca Som Terra near Cas Concos des Cavaller (Felanitx). We are glad we went and we are proud to be part of a movement of sustainable, regenerative and ecologic agriculture here in Mallorca.

Finca Som Terra and other Mallorcan setups, also related to Permaculture, such as Escola Kumar in Marratxí, Finca Son Barrina in Llubí and Ses Aigües in S’Horta, are doing a terrific job in trying to apply the methods of Permaculture to areas of daily living in a more sustainable, economic, ecologic and efficient manner. Check out Finca Som Terra on Facebook, PermaMed on the Internet or watch the following video clip on Vimeo.

Permaculture and organic agriculture ought not to be, however, celebrated only one day a year. Nature and our respect for it should be an ongoing concern, year in, year out.

At Son Alegre we are trying to treat our soil in a responsible, sustainable way by doing very little. We do not plough our fields, we do not use commercial fertilizers, we do not spray any chemicals nor other, non-organic matter. In short, we simply allow nature to do its job, to fulfill its integrated and holistic task even if that may lead to smaller quantities and to a lower profit margin. Our respect for nature has so far given us good harvests. It may not always be perfect, but it is always in accordance with our sanity, health and peace of mind. And it is always in accordance with the way farming was done for thousands of years – sane, natural and humane.