Devotion to and respect for the land, commitment to nature and the embrace of tradition have guided the wine-growing career of Álvar de Dios Hernández since 2008, the year in which he took over his grandfather Donaciano’s century-old vineyards on El Pego’s quaternary sand deposits in the Toro Designation of Origin (Zamora).
In 2014, Álvar de Dios established his own winery and then, in 2015, expanded into a little-known wine-growing region with huge potential: Arribes del Duero. From tiny, centuries-old vines, many of them planted on terraces or river bluffs and rooted in soils rich in white slate and pyrite, come wines that capture the age-old taste and culture of the mysterious borderlands in Camino de los Arrieros, Las Vidres and Yavallo.
In addition to his single-vineyard wines, Alvar makes a wine from three plots of vines located in the northwestern part of Toro. Ranging in age from 25–40 years old, these Tempranillo vines are grown on various soils. Named Tio Uco, this wine, like those from his single vineyards, is made from organically farmed grapes, is fermented whole cluster with indigenous yeasts, sees only a gentle maceration, and is aged primarily in neutral French oak barrels ranging in size from 300-1000L.
- Camino de los Arrieros – Rufete, Juan García, Trincadeira Preta, Merenzao, Mandón, others…
- Tio Uco – Tempranillo/Garnacha