In Spanish, Malahierba means weed or, literally, "bad grass". This might seem an odd name for a wine brand, but Silvia Rocher and Manuel Garcia are out to show us that not all weeds are bad. There are no herbicides used in the vineyards they work with, which allows for a diversity of flora that stresses the vine by creating competition for scant resources. It is through this struggle that the vine becomes stronger as its roots burrow deeper into the ground in search of sustenance.

Malahierba Vinos was born in 2019 in the Sierra de Salamanca, a little-known growing region tucked into the mountains where the southwestern corner of Castilla y Leon butts up against Extremadura. Silvia and Manuel were drawn to the mountains because of the peculiarity of the local grape varieties - Rufete and Rufete Blanco. They source grapes from local smallholders and make minuscule quantities of wine in a bare-bones facility in the village of Sequeros at 3,000 feet above sea level.

Though summers in the mountains are long and dry, the spring and fall bring considerable rainfall, sometimes up to 1,000mm per year. The cultivation of vineyards has a long history here, but without a D.O. classification or much local or international demand for the wines, many cooperatives have closed their doors and untold hectares of old vineyards have gone untended and been consumed by the forest. The renewed interest in the potential of the region from a younger generation is contributing to a revalorization of vineyard land that could help to preserve this unique terroir, weeds and all.