Phinca Hapa Blanco (skin contact)

An ode to the earth, Struggling Vines is a passion project done right.

When Melanie Hickman arrived in Rioja Alavesa to join her husband David, another love affair began, a passion for cultivating wine. Melanie took a chance on a dream and used her retirement savings to purchase her first vineyard, a 6 acre hilltop plot. Not long after Melanie and David fought to take over an old vineyard and set about reviving the old vines.

The concept is simple but it’s the care and respect for the planet that goes into each single-vineyard wine which sets Melanie’s wines apart. There is no rushing the process and the vineyards are farmed the traditional way with horses and all bottles are aged for a minimum of a year in French oak barrels. The story of Phinca Hapa began with Hapa the bulldog and his memory lives on in their wines.