Ember & Grain · Field Notes · Wood · Nº 17
Grapevine Wood
the vine cuttings
Haro, La Rioja. Winter pruning, lamb chops on the embers, and the quickest fire in Spain.
Each winter, in January and February, the vineyards of Rioja are pruned. The cut canes, the sarmientos, are gathered into bundles called gavillas and stacked to dry in the cellar. Later they come out for the grill. They burn fast and hot, a flare of flame that falls to embers in minutes, and on those embers go the lamb chops.
Prune the vine, light the canes, eat with your hands.
On the salt
In the Atlas, Grapevine Wood is paired with Añana Salt.
Field notes
| Also known as | Sarmientos · vine cuttings |
| Plant | Vitis vinifera, grape family |
| Grape | Tempranillo, about 80% |
| Home | Haro · 42°34′ N |
| Rioja D.O. | Spain’s first, 1925 |
| Smoke | Bright, fruity, quick · 3 of 5 |
| On the salt | Añana Salt · Vol. I, Nº 13 |
Continue in The Origins Atlas
The rest of this chapter lives in the book: the full story of the place, how the wood burns, the people who keep the tradition, and the hand-drawn map.
- The Place · the wine town
- The Fire · fast and fierce
- The Taste · bright and quick
Sources: Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja, centenary dossier (2025); Wikipedia, “Rioja DOCa”; nuevecuatrouno (2023, 2025); spain.info, “Batalla del Vino.” Imagery is illustrative and AI-generated.