Compared with the materials often used in other wines, such as grains and fruits, Tequila uses a very special and strange source of sugar - sugar contained in the juice of Agave americana grass (bulbs). Among several Tequila wines, tequila wine uses Blue agave juice as raw material. According to the soil, climate and farming methods, this plant has an average growth period of eight to fourteen years. In contrast, other Agave americana varieties used in Mezcal wine generally have shorter growth periods than Blue agave.
In addition to variety, the quality of agave often depends on its size. The bigger the Agave americana grows, the better the price will be. The crops planted in the agave field on the slope of the Extinct volcano mouth outside Tieqila Town are generally considered to be the Agave americana grass with better quality, and the products made with a small amount of these high-quality Agave americana grass as raw materials are generally evaluated higher than those of large manufacturers concentrated near the town. According to the regulations, as long as more than 51% of the raw materials used are from Blue agave grass, the produced wine is qualified to be called tequila. The insufficient raw materials are replaced by adding other kinds of sugar (usually cane sugar), which is called Mixto. Some Mixto products are sold after being transported to foreign packaging that is not subject to Mexican laws and regulations in the form of whole barrels. However, the regulations stipulate that only 100% of the products using Blue agave as raw material are qualified to be sold in Mexico with the description of "100% Blue Agave" on the label.
Today in Mexico, Blue agave, which is used to make tequila, is planted artificially as a crop. [13] Although Agave americana was originally a plant that used bats to transmit seeds, in practice, it was planted before the rainy season by cutting young branches taken from mother plants aged four to six years, with an average density of 1000 to 2000 plants per acre.
Once the agave is planted, it needs at least eight years to harvest. Among the raw material plants for wine making, the waiting time for harvest is one of the longest. Some wineries that emphasize quality will even further let Agave americana grow to 12 years before harvest, because the longer the plant grows, the higher the sugar content that can be used for fermentation. Plants approaching the harvest period will have their leaf parts pre cut to stimulate their ripening effect. Some growers will apply fertilizer and remove insects during the growth of Agave americana, but the Campos de agave does not need irrigation at all. This is because the experiment found that although artificial irrigation will make Agave americana grow bigger, it will not increase its sugar content. The water needed for Agave americana growth is all from the precipitation in the rainy season every year.
