In addition to its wine tastings and tours of the production facilities, from late summer 2017 Castell Miquel will be offering the chance to experience the grape harvest as a worker. On request the grapes you pick can be made into your own personal wine with your own label. Book online at castellmiquel. com
Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 12pm to 7pm, and Saturdays 11am to 2pm.
Bionorica extracts S. L. has been cultivating medicinal plants on 100 hectares of land in Mallorca since 1995. Do you see any potential for growth for young companies in this field? My basic attitude to Mallorca is that there is money to be made here, which is what many Germans dream of. There are endless business opportunities as German quality, which many people are looking for is hard to find. I fly in my joiners from Germany. But Mallorca is no land of Cockaigne. Quite the opposite. Many expect it to be, and fail. You have to deal with difficulties that you don’ t expect. Ingredients are not readily available and so they are expensive. We went through phases at the vineyard when we didn’ t know which way it would go. Goods were delivered that were unusable, but the bills were still paid as the supplier was a local. It is a very difficult process.
What are the challenges of working with the Spanish authorities? In Spain it is even more important than in Germany to get to know locals you can trust and who are well connected. The market here is subject to different laws. You have to look for a way through local politics, in my case with the mayors in Sa Pobla and Alaró. And naturally you ought to support local clubs and associations. You have to integrate. I am lucky that the family who grew up on my finca and who now run Es Verger treat me as one of the family. So I have met the right people who move in the right circles. I have developed a genuine friendship with the former minister for agriculture. But it is not easy to come to Mallorca and
build up a business that will rapidly give you a living. Particularly if it is a vineyard. You need ten years of patience until you produce a good wine. Of course that is only the case if you come from Germany. In Mallorca the locals clearly have the competitive edge as they have all known each other since they were at school and they can make life hard for you, and they do. Sometimes the gloves come off and it takes you completely by surprise. My motto has always been – live and let live.
Do you have plans for further projects in Mallorca? On the agricultural side we will definitely continue to expand the cultivation of our medicinal plants because we have an increasing need for the plants that grow here. We have been able to significantly optimise our cost structure. We export our wine, jam and almonds and we are always coming up with new products. Mediterranean cuisine is really fashionable at the moment. My customers love the fact they can buy organic almonds from here and also our olive oil.
Bionorica’ s headquarters in Neumarkt, Oberpfalz is one of the most sustainable buildings in the world. Are there any of the technologies in use there that have wider application? We collect rainwater, and we produce our own energy from our own power station fuelled by vegetable oils. In addition to electricity it also produces heat which we use for heating and cooling. At Sa Canova we filter our water using ponds filled with aquatic plants. This produces water sufficiently clean to irrigate the fields and costs next to nothing. We are happy to show this to anyone who is interested. It doesn’ t exist anywhere else. It’ s a good example of why man does not have to interfere with nature, but live in harmony with it.
Do you have any new projects in the pipeline? Yes and the most exciting of them is that we have received authorisation for Sinupret extract. This was a big deal for Bionorica as we have invested millions and spent years working on it. It is a brand new remedy made from the five existing plants. We have been given the international patent until 2032, and we will hopefully soon be able to sell it in Spain, too. In the past it was very difficult to get genuine authorisation in Spain as there herbal medicines are classed as dietary supplements. That was not helpful to us at Bionorica as we put a lot into our research. But the Spaniards are becoming more open minded. We have already received a number of authorisations and more keep being added. The simplest way is through the European procedures that lay down the timelines the authorities have to stick to, and they do. In Poland I normally have to wait four to five years for an authorisation. Using the European Mutual Recognition Procedure, I receive authorisation in Poland and other countries within nine months, all at the same time. Sinupret extract will be rolled out in Ukraine in the next few months. Thank you very much for talking to us.
Photos: castell miquel | translation: cmooDY Further inFormation is availaBle at Bionorica. De
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