The 'Parents' of Ribera del Duero

More than 200 people attended the event organized last March in Burgos to do a homage to seven emblematic winemakers in Ribera del Duero: Ismael Arroyo, Pablo Peñalba, Alejandro Fernandez, Anastasio García and the brothers Perez Pascuas, in order to thank them their great contribution to establish the Apellation of Origin Ribera del Duero.

 These entrepreneurs have been  forgotten by the institutions, so their families  organized this event to supply the lack of an official gratitude. All of them struggled to give a value to the wine in Ribera del Duero region, when this product was not so valued and also convinced the authorities that the region had a great potential, up to  obtain an Apellation of Origin.

Ismael Arroyo started planting vineyards in his village, Sotillo de la Ribera, in 1979, when other people were  rooting them out, and  with the support of his two sons started to elaborate and bottle his own wine under the brands Mesoneros de Castilla and Valsotillo. With a lot of effort and dedication, Ismael was opening market for his wines, selling principally in restaurants and shops of Valladolid, Segovia, Burgos and Madrid, though very soon the quality of his wines draw the attention of importers of The United States, country where he started to export.