Key stages in the history of wine
A journey through the main periods that have shaped the winemaking evolution of Valdepeñas.
Ancient Times
The earliest evidence of vine cultivation and winemaking in the region, with Iberian and Roman remains that place Valdepeñas within the major winemaking routes of the Mediterranean.
Middle Ages
The continuity of vineyards during the medieval period, the influence of the military orders and the role of the Reconquest in the organisation and expansion of vine cultivation in the area.
Early Modern Period
The transfer of the royal court to Madrid, the opening of the Camino Real roads and the growth of trade consolidated Valdepeñas as a regular wine supplier to the town and the court.
Contemporary Period
The expansion of the 19th century, the arrival of the railway and the recognition of the Designation of Origin marked the modern configuration of Valdepeñas’ winemaking sector.
Key Stages
Valdepeñas wines preserve the legacy of a millennia-old tradition linked to vine cultivation and winemaking as an essential element of the region’s identity. This historical journey brings together the main stages that have shaped the winemaking evolution of Valdepeñas, from ancient times to the 20th century.
Origins of wine
Vine cultivation originated in ancient times and spread throughout the Mediterranean. Valdepeñas preserves early evidence of this winemaking tradition.
Ancient Times
4th–1st centuries BC
The first uses of wine
The Iberians were already familiar with vine cultivation and wine in the territory of Valdepeñas. Archaeological findings confirm its ritual and ceremonial use.
Iberian Period
6th–1st centuries BC
Consolidation of wine
Rome promoted vine cultivation and winemaking. Wine presses, wineries and amphorae confirm its economic and cultural importance in Valdepeñas.
Roman Period
1st century BC – 5th century AD
Continuity of wine
During the Muslim period, vine cultivation declined but did not disappear. Monasteries and the Reconquest allowed its preservation and recovery.
Middle Ages
7th–13th centuries
Raimundo of Fitero and the vine
Military orders promoted vine cultivation after the Reconquest. Raimundo of Fitero played a key role in vineyard expansion and the development of grape varieties.
Reconquest
12th–13th centuries
Expansion and wine trade
The transfer of the royal court to Madrid boosted demand for Valdepeñas wine. Production and vineyard area grew thanks to its strategic location.
Early Modern Period
16th–17th centuries
Boost to trade
The opening of the Royal Roads improved communications with Madrid. Valdepeñas wine expanded its trade and consolidated its prestige.
Early Modern Period
18th century
Expansion and modernisation
Valdepeñas wine experienced significant growth and commercial expansion. The arrival of the railway boosted production and opened new markets.
Contemporary Period
19th Century
Recognition and Designation of Origin
Valdepeñas became firmly established as a national winemaking benchmark. The Designation of Origin promoted quality, organisation and the prestige of its wines.
Contemporary Period
20th century
History of vine cultivation and winemaking
The earliest evidence of vine cultivation for winemaking can be found in Georgia, where as early as the Neolithic period, around 6000 BC, winemaking activity already existed—demonstrating a tradition of more than 8,000 years. Meanwhile, the world’s oldest known winery has been discovered in Armenia. Specifically, around 50 kilometres from Tbilisi, ceramic remains of eight large jars were found containing tartaric, malic, succinic and citric acids—several of the so-called “wine acids”—which indicate the domestication of Eurasian grapevines.
Examples of vitis sylvestris can still be found growing wild in nearby natural areas such as Despeñaperros. This wild vine is dioecious, meaning it has separate male and female plants. However, for winemaking purposes, vitis vinifera of European origin is required. Belonging to the Vitaceae family, this cultivated vine has survived to the present day largely thanks to the efforts of ancient civilisations such as the Egyptians, Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans, who spread its cultivation throughout their colonies.
The vine most likely reached the Iberian Peninsula between 1100 and 800 BC, introduced by Greek and Phoenician settlers who arrived along the Mediterranean coast. Within the national context, the town of El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz) is home to the Phoenician winery of Doña Blanca, dating back to the 3rd century BC. Likewise, at the Cerro de las Cabezas Archaeological Park—an Iberian settlement inhabited between the 7th and 3rd centuries BC and part of a major commercial trade route—grape seed remains were found in a storage area, just a few kilometres from present-day Valdepeñas.
Iberian Period
Thanks to Cerro de las Cabezas, a purely Iberian, non-Romanised settlement located near the Jabalón River, a tributary of the Guadiana, we know that the Iberian ancestors of the people of Valdepeñas were familiar with the grapevine and the “magical” effects of wine. They consumed it pure, undiluted, in contrast to the Romans, who customarily mixed it with water. There is evidence of cultural exchange between different territories, and it is more than likely that they were familiar with wine and used it in certain funerary rituals or other ceremonial events.
In addition, amphorae used for transporting liquids have been found, along with several clepsydras, ceramic pieces that are the precursors of modern pipettes, and an Iberian pruning knife.
The analysis of these materials, together with the search for the so-called “wine acids”, will help to confirm an even earlier winemaking past. This Iberian hilltop settlement, located just a few hundred metres from the course of the Jabalón River, lies close to the site of the Puente de San Miguel, where a Roman press counterweight was discovered—suggesting that Roman civilisation may have taken advantage of earlier infrastructure. This proximity to water was a key factor for agricultural activity as a whole, including vine cultivation.
Roman Period
From the Roman period, although their definitive dating is still pending, two Roman press counterweights have been found in the areas of Santa María de las Flores and Puente de San Miguel, as well as a Roman tombstone with floral motifs of the vine, which mentions the obligation to plant vines in the urban area of San Nicasio in the 1st century, dedicated to Norbana Maxiense. It is an offering made by her husband, Lucius Acninipus—meaning “bunch” in Latin—and includes a heraldic shield with a bunch of grapes.
We owe to the Romans the use of the Roman or moldboard plow and the widespread use of earthenware jars for preserving and fermenting wine.
However, undoubtedly, the most significant remains are found in the Roman vicus of Aberturas, present-day Consolación on the N-IV highway, and in the Roman winery at El Peral, within a rural complex of three buildings that was active between the 1st and 5th centuries AD. One of them houses the winery, approximately 350 square meters, with completely separate areas for operating the press, the treading and pressing area (locus), and the fermentation and storage area of the cella vinaria (wine cellar).
In Alhambra, a town that also falls within the geographical area of the Valdepeñas Designation of Origin, Laminium was included as a municipality in the Antonine Itinerary during the Flavian period. The importance of the Ager Laminitano was strategic, as it connected to the port of Cartagena in just a few days, a fact that has led to the discovery of Greek, Cretan, and Roman amphorae at this site. Furthermore, it housed between 5,000 and 6,000 Roman legionaries, who consumed wine from Campania, Calabria, and Sicily, among other regions. A jug commonly used for serving the wine known as Lagynos has been found here.
Meanwhile, the settlement of Oretum was found in Granátula de Calatrava; and in Alcubillas, a krater belonging to a Roman nobleman, decorated with motifs of Greek deities such as Hermes and Zeus, has been discovered.
Some authors also mention Luparia—”land of wolves”—as one of the population centers that merged to form present-day Valdepeñas.
Desert Crossing, Arab Period and the subsequent Reconquest
From the end of the 6th century onwards, we have hardly any traces or references for almost a millennium, except for isolated accounts such as that made by Gregory of Tours around the year 584, in which he speaks of a major plague that spread through Carpetania to the natural region of La Mancha, leaving “no vineyard, tree, fruit, or herb undevoured by insects.”
The Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, beginning in 711, brought a period of decline in viticulture, given that wine is part of what Muslim culture calls khamr. However, there is some ambiguity surrounding this, and the cultivation of vines remained necessary for making certain desserts, due to the caloric content of grapes and raisins, and their importance in vinegar-based preserves such as escabeche. According to oral tradition, without documentary support, it was said that wine could be consumed in the area “as long as it was from Valdepeñas,” alluding to a possible papal bull from the Caliphate of Córdoba, despite it being a Christian concept.
The monasteries and the wine culture made the cultivation of the vine necessary, even in enclosed environments, because wine is essential, and, as we know, it is consecrated in celebrations, while water is blessed.
The Reconquest: the importance of Raimundo of Fitero
The Reconquista, although definitively completed with the capture of Granada in 1492, reached its zenith with the victory of Alfonso VIII at the town of Navas de Tolosa in Jaén province in 1212, relatively close to Valdepeñas.
In this context, from the 13th century onwards, the military orders emerged, a period in which some authors date the founding of Valdepeñas to around 1243 by Doña Berenguela, although the founding charter has not survived.
The Templars, who promoted wine consumption in their nascent monasteries, arrived in the area a century earlier, introducing improvements such as the replacement of oxen with horses for agricultural work, at a time when the most significant expenses for a family were bread and wine, the care of horses, and meat and fish, in that order.
After the Reconquista, each new settler was given an aranzada (400 vines), although the introduction of Tempranillo or Cencibel to the area occurred around 1150, when the Cistercian monk Raymond de Citeaux brought it to the Campo de Calatrava region, of which he was the founder, and to La Mancha. This warrior-monk is also known as Raimundo de Fitero, a Navarrese town located in the Rioja Baja and Navarra region, which is considered the birthplace of Tempranillo as a cross between the white variety Albillo Mayor or Torrontés and the red Benedicto. It is the most important quality red grape in Spain, known by up to ten names, among which Cencibel, Tinta del País, Tinta de Toro, Tinto Fino, Tinto Madrid, and ul de lebre (hare’s eye) in Catalonia stand out.
According to Castro, the military orders earned income from planting and fencing vineyards and levied a quarter of a quart of wine per wineskin sold outside the market as a tax, giving preference to wine produced in their respective winehouses.
One of the earliest temporal references to important vineyard sites in the Valdepeñas area comes from the records of the confraternities between 1491 and 1509, which mention the vineyards of Santa María de Gracia, Santa María de Agosto, San Bartolomé, San Sebastián, and San Nicasio.
The importance of vineyards in the Campo de Calatrava region is evidenced by the provisions issued by Queen Juana around 1554 in the ordinances “for the protection and safeguarding of the vineyards of Valdepeñas de Calatrava.” At that time, a few decades earlier, Philip V had ordered the replanting of the area’s vineyards, which had almost disappeared, with vines brought from Anjou and Poitou in France. However, it would be a couple of centuries later that Charles III would order the planting of “Burgundy vines” in the then-barren fields of Valdepeñas.
For his part, the great treatise writer Gabriel Alonso de Herrera spoke of the Jancivel de Ocaña and the white grape Lairén, in relation to the current Airén, which is the most significant white variety in Valdepeñas and the most widely planted in the world.
Madrid of the Habsburgs
One of the first major advances for the Valdepeñas family came with Philip II’s relocation of the court to Madrid in 1561. This became the first major market for their wines, taking advantage of the trade routes established by the Mesta (the powerful guild of sheep owners). At that time, wine production was estimated at around 100,000 arrobas (approximately 1,500 liters), and their lands were described as “very fertile for bread and vineyards.”
Years later, in 1575, the Crown was compelled to sell Valdepeñas to the first Marquis of Santa Cruz, Don Alvaro de Bazán, for 104,895 reales and 8 maravedíes. This marked the beginning of a period of expansion in which 200,000 new vines were planted in the latter part of the 16th century. During this period, wine represented 17% of the local wealth, which was still largely dominated by cereal crops. From this period, and even with an earlier time reference, we have as examples the caves of the current Municipal Museum, the House of the Vasco and the House of the Caminero, which today houses the Gregorio Prieto Foundation Museum.
The Royal Roads
Although trade with the capital was already in its early stages, the opening of the Royal Roads around 1761, in what is now the radial structure of Spain’s national highways, facilitated the passage of carriages to Madrid by the 45 muleteers listed in the Ensenada Cadastre. Another new route to Andalusia was opened thanks to the new road through Almuradiel and the subsequent settlement of Despeñaperros. This was the first major change in communications, taking up the mantle of the Mesta de Carreteros (the powerful guild of muleteers), and which would be complemented a century later by the arrival of the railway.
In 1790, a production of 200,000 arrobas (approximately 1,500 pounds) was recorded, a time when some of Valdepeñas’s great wineries were beginning to take shape, beyond the two wineries owned by the Marquis of Santa Cruz, described around 1774 by José Viera y Clavijo as “one of the seven wonders of the world,” his still, and the Casa Tercia winery. Although an earlier label mentions a winemaking tradition dating back to 1430 by the Santamaría and Merlo families, the Morales family documented a commercial history from 1746, and at the end of that century, the Salvador Galán (1794) and “La Sagrada Familia” (1796) wineries emerged.
The Englishman Richard Ford, in his book “The Things of Spain,” speaks of the quality of Valdepeñas wines at that time: “The best vineyards and wineries belonged to Don Carlos and the Marquis of Santa Cruz.” Speaking of the latter, it’s worth recalling an anecdote that highlights the traditional Spanish neglect and their way of doing things. This true luminary (the Marquis), one of the most distinguished among the aristocrats for his rank and talent, was dining one evening with a foreign ambassador in Madrid. This gentleman was a great enthusiast of Valdepeñas wine (as all discerning people should be) and went to great lengths to obtain it pure, sending trusted individuals and suitable barrels to fetch it. As soon as the Marquis raised his first glass to his lips, he exclaimed: “Magnificent wine! How do you manage to buy it in Madrid?” “Your administrator in Valdepeñas sent it to me,” replied the ambassador, “and I will be very pleased to get you some.”
Valdepeñas, 19th century: expansion of the production area and arrival of the railway
The 19th century was a period of true splendor and industrial development for Valdepeñas, combining the export-oriented nature of its wines with the opening of markets in former Spanish colonies such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, as well as Mexico, Venezuela, and other Latin American countries.
After some difficult years, following the Battle of June 6, 1808, in which the people of Valdepeñas offered fierce resistance to the Napoleonic troops of General Ligier Belair, earning Valdepeñas the title of “Most Heroic City” for its important role in General Castaños’s final victory, Valdepeñas wines rebounded and filled the wine warehouses of Madrid, culminating in the famous scene by Mesonero Romanos in his “Escenas Matritenses” (Madrid Scenes) where he says: “The taverns on Toledo Street were full of mule trains from La Mancha who, on gray mules, passed through and distributed Valdepeñas wine.”
It is no wonder, then, that Valdepeñas wine was sold in well over half of the 1,500 taverns in the capital, sparking fierce competition among wine merchants like Trapero and Müller to see who could procure the purest Valdepeñas wine.
Another fact that demonstrates that the Grape cultivation gradually became a much more important crop, forming the backbone of the local economy. The expansion of the municipal boundaries and the current production area, encompassing 14,000 hectares from towns in the Campo de Montiel region such as Alhambra and Torre de Juan Abad, was key. However, it was the arrival of the railway, specifically the M.Z.A. line (Madrid-Zaragoza-Alicante), in 1861, that spurred the greatest commercial growth and completely transformed the city’s landscape. The city boasted its own bank (Banca Piqueras) and hosted the first branches in Spain of institutions such as the Bank of Spain, the Banco Español de Crédito, and Banco Bilbao.
The arrival of phylloxera in France a few decades before it reached Spain triggered a surge in demand for Spanish wines, especially those from the Valdepeñas region. A daily train of 25 cars, equipped with movable platforms for transporting wine in skins, casks, or other containers, was sent to Madrid. rum and cokes.
The wineries that had been established earlier, such as Pedro Tello (1810), “Viuda e Hijos de Tomás López-Tello” (1840), Ramón Caravantes (1850), Avansays (1861), Vicente Cornejo y Cia (1865), as well as those of noblemen like the Marquis of Santa Cruz or the Marquis of Mudela, found an ideal way to distribute their wines not only to Madrid and Andalusia, but also to the ports of Valencia and Alicante, and thus access to Cuba, the Philippines, and the entire American continent.
Meanwhile, many of the more than 27,000 inhabitants registered in 1857 found employment in wineries such as Tarancón (1870), Luis Palacios (1870)—which years later began trading with Russia—Bodegas José Mompó—a benchmark for Bilbaínas—(1870), and Ruiz de León. (1875) or Miguel Caravantes y Cía (1875), among many others.
Such was the importance of this quality designation that at the 1877 Madrid Wine Exhibition, more than half of the exhibitors, 147, were from Valdepeñas.
Valdepeñas, a benchmark of the 20th century
At the beginning of the 20th century, Valdepeñas was the leading wine-producing region in Spain, hosting a royal visit in 1905 and the Wine and Spirits Meeting in 1908. Furthermore, thanks to the Viticultural Experimental Field, inaugurated in 1911, Valdepeñas had the first “Oenological” research station to address the treatments needed to combat the phylloxera plague that had appeared in the area a few years earlier.
In 1925, Valdepeñas hosted the founding of the Regional Federation of Winegrowers and, three years later, established its own Wine Mercantile Circle to defend the interests of its wines. This work culminated in the recognition of the Valdepeñas Designation of Origin on September 8, 1932, in its first Wine Statute, although its definitive creation took place in 1968. In that year, there were 400 wineries, 113 of which sold their wine outside the local market and ten of which exported abroad.
In the trade fair scene, Valdepeñas has also been a benchmark, having organized the first La Mancha Regional Wine Fair in 1952, the precursor to FERVINO and the current Ciudad Real National Wine Fair (FENAVIN).
Valdepeñas was also a pioneer in having the first woman to preside over a Regulatory Council, an honor bestowed upon the renowned oenologist and wine expert María Isabel Mijares, who assumed the position in 1982 to help promote the wines of the designation of origin.
Finally, the current Interprofessional Association of Valdepeñas Wines, established in July 2025, is the successor to the previous Interprofessional Association of Winegrowers of the geographical area of the Valdepeñas DO, which was in force from 2004, as a result of the change in the Wine Law, until its dissolution.