Brian and Raquel visited the NILVA Wine vineyard in November to see for themselves the great work this local company are doing to save Manilva’s vineyards. Did you know that 70% of the vineyards in this area have disappeared in just 25 years and the surviving vineyards are in serious danger of disappearing?
Wine making is so essential to this part of the Costa del Sol and the growing of vines protects the land from building, so we believe it’s very important to support. This is why, we’ve sponsored one of the 4,000 vines in their Viña del Peñoncillo vineyard.
C2C Properties have also decided to donate one vine shrub to NILVA, for each property we sell. We will sponsor the vine on behalf of the buyer and in their name, and they will have a wooden plaque with their names on the vine.
As part of this sponsorship and to celebrate the purchase of the property in typical Manilvan style, there will be a presentation at the vineyard, to show our clients their vine, and to give them a certificate and a presentation bottle of Moscatel. We hope this will be a lovely way to start their time owning a property in the Manilva area and is just another way that they can put down roots and start to feel part of this great community.
Anyone can sponsor a vine and support NILVA in their crusade to ensure the vineyards are not developed and the wine making heritage of Manilva is preserved. Leading Spanish Chef Martín Berasategui, owner of the three Michelin star restaurant Lasarte-Oria has sponsored a vine, as has Chef and Food Writer David de Jorge. Find out more about sponsoring a vine on their website.
Wine in Manilva
The traditional grapes grown in Manilva are the Muscat of Alexandria (Moscatel de Alejandría), an ancient grape which are believed to have come from North Africa and brought to the area by the Romans. These grapes are eaten fresh or as raisins, but also make strong, sweet wine. The area is best known for its sweet wine, which you can find at most local shops in Manilva village and the surrounding area.
Not only are the team from NILVA trying to save the vines, they are also educating people about wine and have a wine museum in the village, next to the Fire Station. You can visit the museum to find out all about it and there are guided tours of the museum and wine tastings in the surrounding vineyards, which we would highly recommend.
The team behind NILVA wine is so passionate about the wine making heritage in Manilva, and the potential of the area as a producer of fine wines, that they now produce two dry Manilva wines, a regular version and an organic version. They describe the wine as dry, modern and unique with fruity and aromatic notes and a fresh taste with a slight salty note due to the proximity to the sea.
They are winning praise and plaudits for both the wines and the work they are doing to preserve the native grapes and cement the reputation of Manilva and its wine. This is quite a departure from the usual way that wine is produced here - locally in very small batches and sold from little shops and market stalls in plastic bottles, with no label. It’s very important work, and wonderful wine too!
The man behind this impressive project is Argimiro Martínez Moreno, who comes from a family of wine producers in Albacete. Starting as an engineer, he discovered Manilva and its vineyards in 2011 and loved the beautiful countryside and village. He created NILVA ENOTURISMO in 2014 to produce fine wines from Manilva, establish experiences around wine and promote the area as a destination for wine tourism. He’s taken these wonderful wines to wine and food festivals around the country, where they elicit an excellent response. The organic wine was placed in the top 10 in the Best Wines of Spain Awards, the white won the best white wine in the Taste of Malaga event and they were named the best wine from the Sierras de Malaga in 2021.
They are also now part of the Wine Route of Ronda and Malaga, bringing more people to this area to enjoy the wine, food and beautiful surroundings, and were awarded an international sustainable tourism award in 2019 for their work.
Where to enjoy Manilva wine?
We’d recommend visiting the Manilva Wine festival on the first weekend in September, where you can try Manilva wine and see the grapes being crushed in the traditional way as part of the event. Check out our guide to the Manilva Wine Festival for more information.
There is also a gastronomy festival called Saborea de Manilva (Taste of Manilva) at the beginning of December each year, where you can try locally produced wines, alongside traditional products from the area.
You can also pick up a bottle of the rustic local wines in fruit shops and on the side of the road during grape season. Fruteria Pascual e Hijos sells these wines and stocks lots of incredible local cheeses, meats, olives and oils and is well worth a visit. These traditional Manilva wines are sold in plastic bottles that you’d expect to see oil in and usually come in sweet, medium and dry varieties. These are rough and ready wines and benefit from being very cold, but they are certainly cheap and cheerful and will give you a true experience.
You can also pick up NILVA Wine at their shop in the Manilva Wine Museum, or buy it online. If you want to taste the wine and find out more about wine making, join them for their NILVA Wine Experience. This includes a tour of the wine museum, a tour of the production facility for the wine and then a visit to their vineyard where you will taste the wine and enjoy tapas. This costs 25€ per person and takes around 2 hours.
Property in Manilva
If you’d like us to help you buy property in Manilva and sponsor a vine too please contact us. You can browse properties for sale in Manilva on our website, or send an email to [email protected] with your requirements and let us shortlist some properties for you.