For this special edition season we decided to team up with a organisation that is successfully showcasing how different terroir and wines can be throughout Spain; Grandes Pagos de Espana. In 6 episodes we will talk about the diversity of Spain, it’s history, present and future and we will guide you through 5 prominent and promising wine regions.
Each region will be represented by one of the local stars, and members of Grandes Pagos de Espana. In the first episode Jean Belondrade from Belondrade Vinos is our guest. Belondrade is a member of Grandes Pagos de España and acclaimed winery in the Rueda region. Fans of our show will recognize Jean as we did an earlier interview with him in one of the previous season of Cellar Talks.
About Grandes Pagos de Espana
Grandes Pagos de Espana; Great Vineyards of Spain. In Spain there is a group of winegrowers who live by and to achieve exceptional wines. Winegrowers who love their farms and respect the environment that surrounds them, as if it were real jewels. People who cultivate the land with the same dedication and care that Mother Nature provides the best resources (soil, nature, climate) for her payments. And even an extraordinary beauty. When these winemakers met and tasted their wines, they realized that not only did they share passion and work philosophy, but they could still go a step further by working together to achieve exceptional wines. Then the Great Pagos of Spain arose.
About Belondrade Vinos
Belondrade was founded only in the mid 90’s by Frenchman Didier Belondrade who felt in love with the Castilian plateau, its extreme climate, its magical soils made of sand, pebbles and clay, but above all he felt in love with Rueda’s native variety: verdejo. He decided to leave behind his life of Parisian executive and live his dream.
With the idea to create a “chateau” in Spain, he decided to search for another interpretation of verdejo, expressing longevity and elegance. In 2000 Didier decided to materialize his project with the construction of his new cellar in the village of La Seca (Valladolid), just a few kilometers away from the Duero River. The estate Quinta San Diego grew steadily, obtaining in 2010 the organic certification.
As of today, it is composed of 23 plots presenting differences in terms of soils compositions (clay, sand, pebbles, limestone), orientations, planting patterns, pruning, training systems, and ages of the vines. These differences bring a unique personality to each plot.
We are looking forward to talking to Jean and learning about Grandes Pagos de Espana and the great wine regions of Spain. Be sure to tune in on Instagram Live through our Dutch Wine Apprentice account on Friday the 5th of November, 19:30h CET.
All shows are recorded and can also be watched on our IGTV channel (also accessible through our instagram profile). If you did not have a chance to tune in for our previous seasons you can watch the recordings through this link. We are also converting all previous episodes into Podcasts, more information and links to that can be found here.
Click here for instructions on how to follow a live show on Instagram Live. If you have questions for our guest you are welcome to prepare them and e-mail them to us or send them as a direct message on our Instagram account.
You can find a link to the recording of the show here.
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