Pago de Carraovejas - Giannikos Winery

Pago de Carraovejas originally started with the first nine hectares and this has already become a reference winery in the heart of the Ribera del Duero. It all started more than three decades ago, when Pago de Carraovejas was founded in response to a dream of José María Ruiz to create a great wine in one of the areas that had the greatest potential at the time.

José María's history in the wine world had already begun several years earlier, in 1971, when he appeared as a representative of Spain at the 'First Global Contest for Sommeliers' in Milan. That experience was the beginning of his desire to open his own restaurant and make his own wines. Although he was still fully involved in the catering world since the opening of the renowned Restaurante José María in Segovia in 1982, he remained determined to launch his project for a small wine cellar that would produce wines of the best quality for his restaurant.

This is how the history of Pago de Carraovejas began when he opened the wine cellar in Peñafiel in 1987, specifically in the hills of Carraovejas. The location of these first nine hectares was chosen because they were an important historical center for Ribera del Duero wines and in one of the areas with the greatest potential for Spanish wines due to their location, soil and climate. This was the start of a project that has already produced more than thirty volumes.

The scope of what started as an ambitious dream has expanded tremendously over the years since the company was founded. In 2007, a new era began when José María's son Pedro Ruiz joined the project. This new leadership brought with it a fresh business perspective that, faced with the exponential growth of Pago de Carraovejas, decided to take on new challenges in sustainability and use them as criteria that would determine the company's activities; innovation as a driving force for progress and development; and enotourism as a means to open the project to all their customers with transparency and integrity.

Pedro Ruiz's leadership also marked the beginning of a new era under the concept of Alma Carraovejas (Soul of Carraovejas) that entails the search for unique landscapes that will help fulfill the dream of restoring and caring for unique legacies on the field of wine. -creating for future generations. The Alam Carraovejas group has a number of very famous wineries under its wing and only the best is good enough. Ossian, Maranones, Emilio Rojo, Vina Mein are wine houses belonging to the group. Top international houses. Visiting the winery is an absolute experience with the impressive wine cellar but also the Michelin-star restaurant AMBIVIUM which is in the top of the best Restaurants in Spain.

Pago de Carraovejas has unique wines, each with its own unique, extremely fascinating personality. The wines have very expressive aromas, intense color, fleshy, powerful and exuberant taste that manifests each of the characteristics of each variety. In recent years, this bodega has made a huge boost and is now one of the top houses in the Ribera del Duero.

Nice to know, but Jose Maria Ruiz serves the house wine in his restaurant in Segovia under the name "Autor" and this is a special version of the Pago de Carraovejas wines and it is only available in his restaurant. The restaurante José Maria is located on the Plaza Mayor in the city of Segovia in Spain and is managed on a daily basis by Rocío Ruiz, Pedro's sister.