Producer Esmeralda Garcia

SPAIN

Esmeralda García can rightly be considered the Lady of the Verdejo. A young winemaker born in Segovia, but the family is originally from Santiuste de San Juan Bautista, a town of just over 500 inhabitants integrated into the DO Rueda which, like other nearby cities, is characterized by its sandy soils that allowed the vines to survive of Verdejo. Esmeralda, after collaborating with various wineries such as Avelino Vegas and Finca Caraballas, decides to return to his native country to create a project that focuses on respecting the environment. Here, he begins to take care of the old family vineyards, where there are old plants that have an age ranging between 140 and 210 years. In the vineyard neither pesticides nor chemicals are used, and in the cellar the same philosophy is followed with spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts only, without the use of adjuvants. The central wine of the project is the tasty and fast Santyuste Vino de Pueblo, next to this we find other wines characterized by refinements in amphora or chestnut barrels. One of the most curious is Vallejo, which comes from the vineyards that survived in the city and are planted among the buildings of Santiuste. Esmeralda produces excellent wines from the heart and the earth.