Bodegas de los Ríos Prieto was established in 2000 in Pesquera de Duero, an area which contains some of the most distinguished bodegas in DO Ribera del Duero thanks to the top quality grapes grown there. It is situated close to the banks of the River Duero in the province of Valladolid in the autonomous Comunidad de Castilla y León. It is family-owned and managed and has the aim of producing classical Ribera del Duero wines.
Félix de los Ríos, the founder of the bodega, is a creative man with a great passion for the soil and wine. In the late 1990s he founded his own winery using not only the latest technological advances but also the skills acquired over decades. The state of the art winery has the most modern equipment - stainless steel tanks, fermentation by thermal control, climatization and an impressive Crianza building, built 6 metres underground in order to achieve ideal humidity and temperature conditions (14°C and 82% humidity all year round). In 2002, when his son, Javier de los Ríos, joined the winery, they decided to commercialise their wines within the denomination.
The winery currently owns 65 hectares of its own vineyards aged up to 100 years old. The 100 year old vineyard, “La Pintada”, belonged to Javier’s grandfather. In the municipality of Pesquera de Duero, Ríos Prieto own 25 hectares of Tinta del País on three different plots - "El Llano" 19 hectares, with average 18 year old vines on clayey, gravelly soils. "La Nava" 5 hectares, with average 11 year old vines on red, clayey soils, and "Carravilla" 1 hectare, which has average 20 year old vines on gravelly soil structure. In the municipality of Peñafiel, on a plot known as "Los Cuatro Caminos", there are 2.2 hectares of Tinta del País and Cabernet Sauvignon, average 10 year old vines on chalk and gravel soil. They also own 8 hectares of Tinta del País in the municipality of Manzanillo, average 15 year old vines on clayey, gravelly soil.
The vineyards undergo weekly tests from early September to evaluate the ripeness of the grapes - acidity, weight, sugars - with the winemaker, Jorge González, making the final decision on when harvesting should begin. This usually commences by hand in early October and the grapes are carefully transported to the winery in 20 kg boxes in order to avoid any loss of must concentration. A second rigorous selection is carried out, again by hand, on a conveyor table at the winery to ensure the highest possible quality. The bunches are de-stemmed and the grapes with their skins then undergo fermentation in stainless steel vats. After the malolactic fermentation, the wine is transferred to oak barrels and left to age for the time required for the type of wine to be produced. Ríos Prieto currently produces about 300,000 bottles, which include 30,000 young wines, 150,000 Roble, 100,000 Crianza, 15,000 Reserva and a Signature wine (Vino de Autor) 5,000. It is the third largest winery in Pesquera de Duero, a small village with only 500 inhabitants but with 25 wineries. 65% of their production is earmarked for the domestic market, the rest is exported.
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