The Duque García family allows us to tell one of those stories that we like to remember with wines that evoke those memories of yesteryear. A family dedicated to the field since … not even they can remember. For so many years they have been dedicated to the meticulous care of the vineyards. They do not come from a noble family, but from tireless workers who have made the phrase “from sunrise to sunset” their hallmark. The “terruño”, as they like to call it, fleeing from Gallicisms such as Terroir, has seen five generations of Duque grow among its vineyards, a name that they proudly carry and have immortalized by naming their wines. It all began back in 1980 when grandpa Adrián bought his first hectare of land on the slopes of Fuensaldaña, in the province of Valladolid. It has passed from father to son for generations; from Adrian to Nereo, Nereo to Fermín, and now Alfonso and Jose Carlos under their father’s guidance. They are the ones who continue to supervise each task that is carried out in the winery.
But the true soul of the Duque family is “Uncle Carlitos” who, at 81 years old, gets up when the sun has not yet risen to see the sunrise from the Duque family’s vineyards.
He arrives on his bicycle and with the drive to work as he has done for more than seventy years.
When he sees that the sun will continue to be his unconditional companion for one more day, he takes his hoe and pruning shears, which are surely older than him, and he walks around the terroir to supervise each vine.
So as not to confuse a single one, and with the utmost care as if to children, they are marked with coloured cords so the men in the fields know how to prune them, with which scissors, if special care is needed… In short, a pampering resulting in the best grape with which Lagar del Duque wines are later made.
This is where the quality of the Duque family’s wines lies, in the meticulous care that each of its members puts into the work of monitoring each vine, since Uncle Carlitos says that it must be plucked to make way for new growth, until the grape harvest.
BODEGA LAGAR DEL DUQUE
Calle Camino de la Ermita s/n ,
47194 Fuensaldaña,
Valladolid
