Spain
Throughout its 284-year long history, Bodegas Alvear has managed to hold on to its family traits, passing ownership from parent to child. By firmly sticking to its roots, the business is now in the hands of the eighth generation.
The history of Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España began back in 1879 at this winery in Barrio de la Estación train station in the town of Haro. Over more than 140 years, the winery has continued to grow around the Aldea del Vino (Wine Village), a sunny courtyard flanked by unique stone buildings with ceramic tile roofs, which has become the central hub of CVNE. The first wine produced by CVNE took the name of the company’s initials. However, a simple and fortunate spelling error, confusing the V with a U, led to the creation of the iconic Cune brand.
The Imperial winery is a small and unique independent artisanal winery within the original CVNE facility in Haro, where the company was founded. This has been one of Spain’s finest wines since 1920 and is only produced in years of exceptional harvests in Rioja: Imperial. The winery’s flagship wine was ranked the world’s best wine in 2013 by the prestigious American magazine Wine Spectator, becoming the first Spanish wine to receive this accolade.
CVNE have been producing Monopole in Haro since the beginning of the 20th century. The name was registered back in 1915, making it the white wine with the oldest registered name in Spain. Since then, it has been one of CVNE’s most prominent wines and a benchmark in households and hospitality. Monopole is made from viura grapes, and its French name denotes that the wine comes from a single vineyard, a term originating from Napoleonic times.
A pioneer in traditional method sparkling wine production in Spain, Roger Goulart has represented the most authentic taste of cava since 1882. Roger Goulart’s cavas are the fruits of a centuries-old tradition. A unique and exclusive producer of sparkling wines made from the local Xarel-lo grape variety, bottle-fermented in cellars 30 metres below ground, similar to the best champagne cellars in the world.
Viña Real dates back to 1920. Today this winery is not only a winemaking pioneer in ageing Rioja Alavesa but a timeless brand that has always remained faithful to its roots, with authenticity and sincerity at the fore. Viña Real’s wines stand out for having the unmistakable stamp of the unique Rioja Alavesa terroir: wines with excellent ageing potential, body, structure and aromatic intensity, predominantly fruity.
The Virgen del Galir winery is located in the small town of Éntoma in Orense (Galicia) in a valley of the river Galir. Founded in 2002, the vines, planted in the slate, clay and granite soils so characteristic of the area, are arranged in terrace plots, more than 600 metres above sea level and at a gradient of 40%. This distinctive method of cultivation was inherited from the Romans, and the two indigenous grape varieties (Godello and Mencía) produce wines with a singular character.