Bodegas Xaló, the Cradle of Wine in Marina Alta
Founded over 60 years ago, the cooperative is a benchmark in the viticulture sector of Alicante province and the Valencian Community.
Óscar Bartual Bardisa
Alicante
Sunday, 9 November 2025, 07:25
Located in Xaló, a small village in Marina Alta with just over 3,000 inhabitants, the wineries named after the town that hosts them will receive the Alicantinos 2025 Award - granted by this newspaper - on November 19. Surrounded by small terraces over 400 meters above sea level, this cradle of Alicante wine is discovered, a reference in cooperativism in Alicante and the Valencian Community.
After more than 60 years, the Xaló wineries are a testament to the success of teamwork among local farmers to produce some of the most distinctive wines of Alicante. From mistelas to reds, and including white moscatel wines, the Xaló cooperative is the most important wine cooperative in the northern part of the province.
Founded in 1962 after the union of 14 local farmers, the winery leads the viticulture of Marina Alta and now has 390 members, working on about 400 hectares of vineyards, mostly of Moscatel de Alejandría and Giró varieties. The winery's domains are located in the area known as 'Vall de Pop', which includes the municipalities of Parcent, Alcalalí, Llíber, Senija, Benissa, and Xaló itself.
"The Xaló cooperative represents many small owners and their union, allowing their work to provide significant income for many people's economy," highlights the current president of Bodegas Xaló, José Juan Reus.
For Reus, cooperatives are an essential part of the agri-food industry. "Traditionally, they have been the largest companies in the sector," explains Reus, who emphasizes that the case of the cooperative he presides over is quite different: "In our area, ownership is very fragmented, and the cooperative represents that union of small owners."
The Importance of Wine Tourism
Bodegas Xaló is a pilgrimage site in the northern province for wine lovers. The cooperative offers a tour where visitors can firsthand experience the facilities and the winemaking process.
In addition, there is the opportunity for a wine tasting session with four different types and a mistela or vermouth. Alongside, one can enjoy a selection of local sausages and cheeses.
This is an increasingly popular practice. Gastronomic tourism has become one of the province's pillars, highlighting its native products and their quality.
"The most characteristic feature of our wines is that they are made with two native varieties that are little known in the rest of Spain," explains Reus. "On one hand, we have a red grape variety, Giró, and on the other hand, and more well-known, Moscatel de Alejandría," notes the cooperative's president.
For Reus, the Moscatel from Marina Alta "is different from others due to its proximity to the sea." The farmer highlights its "particular aromatic richness," which gives Bodegas Xaló wines "a very particular and unique freshness and aromas," as is the case with Bahía de Dénia, one of its most famous and dry and sweet at the forefront.
Harvest 2025
Despite its robustness over time, the wineries have also had to face the characteristic weather adversities of Alicante province. The ongoing drought has challenged the viticulture sector.
Innovation in a Traditional Business
Innovating in a traditional business is not easy. "For us, it means working to ensure the quality of the grape is optimal," explains José Juan Reus, who assures that "this is not easy as you have to convince the small farmer that quality is more important than quantity and that the grape only enters the winery if it meets quality requirements."
But for the cooperative's president, innovating also means "working on new commercial developments, in our case working to increase exports on one hand and opening new markets in our country on the other."
The third pillar of innovation, according to Reus himself, is "incorporating the latest technologies into the cooperative for both winemaking and distribution, and of course, a very important job in advertising in very different areas and media."
José Juan Reus, also president of the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) of Alicante Wines, has stated that "we have already had tough years due to the drought," but he took the opportunity to "thank the members for their work this year."
This campaign has harvested around one million kilos between Moscatel and Giró grapes, which "have good graduation and very good quality," explains Reus, who assures that this year's wines "will have outstanding quality."
