The castle of Peñafiel in Valladolid, where the Protos winery stands as a symbol of pioneering spirit in the Ribera del Duero region in Spain
Built into the hillside from which rises the castle of Peñafiel in Valladolid, Protos stands as a symbol of pioneering spirit in Ribera del Duero. Founded in 1927 by a group of local winegrowers as Bodega Ribera Duero, it ceded its name in 1982 to the new DO, and took instead the name of one of its wines, ‘Protos’, from the Greek for ‘first’, to commemorate its trailblazing position as the first winery in the region.
It is this pioneering spirit that continues to position Protos at the forefront of innovation in Ribera de Duero and beyond. Although renowned as a leading producer of premium red wines in the region – the company now manages an impressive 1,400ha of vineyards within the Ribera del Duero appellation – Protos has in recent years set its sights on producing benchmark-setting whites and rosés, from the surrounding appellations of Rueda and Cigales, respectively.
Vineyard with gravel soils in the Rueda DO
Different expressions of Verdejo
Protos established its first winery in Rueda – Spain’s most important white wine appellation – as long ago as 2006. The gravel soils situated at 700-800m altitude provide the perfect conditions for growing award-winning Verdejo wines.
Protos Verdejo 2023 is the flagship wine in the Rueda range: a
