Protos

History

In 1927, the Protos winery was founded by winegrowers in Peñafiel (Valladolid). It was the first winery in Ribera, where the appellation would later be given its name.

The Protos winery, from the Greek "PRIMERO" (FIRST), began to grow very quickly and had to start expanding its vineyards and winery in this area. Its ageing cellar, which was built in the middle of the mountains below the castle of Peñafiel, stands out.

In the 1930s, Protos began to expand internationally and consolidated as one of the best wines, in fact, thanks to a universal exhibition that took place in Barcelona, its red wines received the gold medal, and it was the starting point for even greater expansion.

In the 1980s, the Ribera del Duero denomination of origin was born. This Regulatory Council will be in charge of protecting the quality of the wines of the area, where the starting point was precisely this winery.

In 1995 they expanded their ageing cellar and acquired a winery in Anguix (Burgos), which has the capacity to process up to three million kilos of grapes, of which 1.5 million kilos go through the selection table. This winery is equipped with the most advanced technology, consolidating this winery on the international wine scene.

Protos can boast of having several wineries, of different denominations, different in form, but very similar in substance: the search for quality above all else.

Vineyards and winery

Protos owns 100 hectares of vineyards, is supplied by some 500 hectares belonging to its partners, and a further 300 hectares from local vine growers who have become regular suppliers. Almost 1000 hectares of vineyards spread over the different areas producing large quantities of different types of wine.

The type of grapes that the winery works with are Tempranillo (queen of the Ribera del Duero Denomination of Origin) and Verdejo, the autochthonous variety of Rueda.

Protos has 4 different wineries in different areas of the Ribera, always seeking to maintain the same quality of its wines with different denominations.

It has two wineries in the heart of the Ribera del Duero: Peñafiel (Valladolid) and Anguix (Burgos) where its famous crianza and aged red wines are produced. Its other winery is located in the heart of the Rueda appellation: La Seca (Valladolid), where their successful Verdejo, young and barrel-fermented wines are made.

Winemaking process

Protos continues to use traditional winemaking methods as a basis, although it has been modernising its techniques year after year.

The grapes are always harvested under controlled conditions, with small yields to achieve maximum concentrations, using old vineyards and exclusive barrels, which are the hallmark of their identity and are maintained over time.

Protos harvests all of its grapes by hand. In the 2001 harvest, they began a harvesting process where more than half of the production is collected in twenty-kilogram boxes, where they go to manual selection tables, to observe and select each cluster. In this way, they ensure that the grapes arrive whole and healthy for the fermentation process.

The process of modernisation and innovation at the Protos winery has always been a day-to-day process, in order to achieve maximum quality. In their modern base of operations, they have developed R+D+i programmes to study the grapes and the different barrels in depth in order to achieve a perfect combination in the treatment and elaboration of their wine varieties.