Grape Masters S01E02 – Belondrade, Spain.
In our second episode, we travel to Spain to meet Jean Belondrade of Belondrade Wines, located in the Rueda region. Jean’s father, Didier, founded Belondrade in the early ’90s after the family moved from France to Spain.
Over the past 30 years, Belondrade Wines has risen to the top of the Spanish wine industry, producing some of the finest white wines in Spain, distributed worldwide. Their premium wine, Belondrade y Lurton, is unmistakable with its full orange label and is featured in top restaurants globally.
Join us as we explore Belondrade’s vision and success, revealing how they single-handedly elevated the image of both Rueda and its signature grape, Verdejo.
Belondrade Wines: A Spanish Legacy with French Roots
Centered in the heart of the Rueda region, Belondrade Wines stands as a testament to the fusion of French expertise and Spanish terroir. Founded by Didier Belondrade in the early 1990s, this winery has become a symbol of innovation and quality in Spanish winemaking. Today, Didier’s son, Jean Belondrade, continues the legacy, working alongside his father to uphold and enhance the family’s vision.
Belondrade’s vineyards span 41 hectares, divided into 24 main plots and numerous subplots, each with its unique characteristics. The high altitude and continental climate of the Duero Valley, with its extreme temperature variations, create the perfect conditions for cultivating Verdejo.
Their flagship wine, Belondrade y Lurton, is a testament to their commitment to quality and innovation. Unlike typical barrel-fermented wines, Belondrade y Lurton integrates the oak subtly, ensuring it enhances rather than overpowers the wine. This wine is known for its balance, structure, and the ability to age gracefully over many years.
For an in-depth exploration of Belondrade Wines and to read a comprehensive review of the 2022 vintage of their flagship wine (Belondrade y Lurton) visit their profile on our website.
Jean Belondrade, Second Generation at Belondrade Wines
Jean Belondrade Lurton has been involved in Belondrade since he was a child. After moving to Spain in 2001, he soon realized that he was not only passionate about the wine world, but also wanted to carry on the work his father started almost a decade ago.
After graduating in Business at the ESC Toulouse, with a successful exchange at the John Molson School of business in Montréal (Canada), he moved to Bordeaux and specialized in oenology and viticulture, pursuing the famous DUAD at the Université Bordeaux II. In 2018 he obtained an MBA by the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid.
While developing the exports for Belondrade, Jean had the occasion to alternate its work at the winery with several experiences abroad, discovering and experiencing different terroirs such as Bordeaux (France), the Maipo Valley (Chile) or the Mosel (Germany). In Jean’s words, these experiences have given him a wider and more complete view of the wine world, but above all, an opportunity to “understand different interpretations of a terroir and meet the great personalities able to do that”.
Jean is now an active and decisive part of every process in Belondrade’s day to day, working side by side with his father and getting ready to assume the leadership within the next years.
Grape Masters, Iconic Wineries of the World
Grape Masters, by Dutch Wine Apprentice, brings you exclusive interviews with leading wineries and iconic winemakers. Through 1:1 interviews we learn what is the key behind their success, share behind the scene insights and personal stories. Join us and learn from the best of the best, while enjoying a glass of wine!
You can read more about Grape Masters here.
Tune in now!
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Be sure to subscribe to, and like, our podcast as its online and stay tuned for further announcements.
We would like to Jean Arnaud, Belondrade’s proud importer in the Netherlands, for their collaboration on this Podcast, and of course our guest: Jean Belondrade from Belondrade Wines.
