"Create unforgettable experiences around wine, committed to unique projects, in search of a higher purpose, with the commitment to build a unique legacy."
The challenge is to be able to find inspiration, every day, to develop authentic products and services, supported by a happy and sustainable organization with itself and with its environment, in search of constant improvement, to achieve the highest quality through innovation, while preserving its own culture of the organization and the people who make it up as a legacy.
Alma de Carraovejas includes several projects: Pago de Carraovejas, Ossian, for the verdejo of Segovia centenary vineyards that were not decimated by phylloxera, Milsetentayseis, with its centenary vineyards source of essential historical genetics, Viña Meín of Emilio Rojo, Marañones, in the Sierra de Gredos, mosaic of vineyards of exceptional landscape and oenological value within the D. O. Wines of Madrid. It all began in the 1970s when Pago de Carraovejas was founded in response to the dream of José María Ruiz to create a great wine in a region that had excellent potential. From its first 9 hectares, Pago de Carraovejas soon became a reference winery in the heart of the Ribera del Duero.
Pago de Carrovejas
The estate of 220 hectares of vineyards, of which 160 hectares are in production of three grape varieties, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, is located three kilometers from the town of Peñafiel. The vineyard is planted at an average altitude of 850 meters above sea level on a hillside perpendicular to the Duero River. Perched on the south-facing hillsides surrounding the valley of the Botijas River, a tributary of the Duero River, it enjoys a microclimate created by the calming influence of the Duero River, the prevailing westerly winds and the southern orientation of the gentle hills protecting the heart of the valley from the northerly winds and the damaging effects of spring and fall frosts. Different pruning methods are used: double Cordon Royat pruning and overhead pruning to obtain goblet-shaped vines, two viticultural techniques adapted to the orography of the terroir which can also be defined as traditional viticulture (for vines growing on the valley floor), and mountain viticulture (for vines growing on the hillsides). For the hills up to 20% slope, they are planted directly on the ground, otherwise in terraces to curve the excessive slope. In the cellar, a unique process is used that combines gravity work, the use of yeasts and bacteria specific to the terroir and exceptional wooden barrels thanks to a selection of extra fine grain oak barrels for the aging of the wine. What began as an ambitious dream has grown considerably over the years and a new era began in 2007 when Pedro Ruiz joined the project. He brought a new business approach as a criterion governing the activities: sustainable development based on innovation as a driver of progress and development and wine tourism as a way to open the project to all their customers with transparency and integrity. From the very beginning, there has been a series of R&D projects in collaboration with universities and research centers (artificial intelligence, robotics, clonal selection of plants with plant material from Pago de Carraovejas, development of viticultural and œnological strategies and methods in the face of climate change, oxygenation and microbiological determinants in the aromatic evolution of red wine in barrels, etc. ) with the aim of obtaining raw materials of the highest quality, namely the grapes and ultimately the wine, and to find balance and sustainability in all areas. The strength and dedication of 150 people have built Pago de Carraovejas. A team of people who defend the principles of the company with commitment and rigour. A great dream shared by all: to pass on a lasting legacy. The current and future philosophy of Pago de Carraovejas is to create unforgettable experiences around wine, committed to unique projects in pursuit of a higher goal, with the commitment to build a unique legacy by stubbornly preserving the culture of the organization and the people who make it up.
Pago de Carraovejas is included in the list of the 100 best vineyards in the world established by the publication "World’s Best Vineyards", which highlights the unique nature of its wines, its commitment to precision winemaking and its research into sustainable development.
Ossian
Ossian is the Verdejo of Segovia, a five-century-old heritage. The work consists of maintaining and recovering centuries-old vineyards that were not decimated by phylloxera, in a land of privileged soils and extreme climate that marks the character of the ancestral and authentic Verdejo. It is also an ecological commitment. It is not possible to work this type of pre-phylloxera vineyard in any other way than organically. It is a matter of observing and learning from the ecosystem to achieve a natural balance between man, the environment, and the vine, paying tribute to the vines that are a wine heritage. Among the seas of pine forests located in the Segovian countryside, hawthorns take root in the sandy soils and slate tongues. These are poor soils that force the vine to give the best of itself in extreme climatic conditions. It is essentially a very old grape variety, with vines that are almost two hundred years old and have seen several generations of winemakers pass through.
"The objective is to immortalize this heritage, obtaining a fruit that lasts and an incomparable wine."