After honing her craft alongside some of the region’s top winemakers, Esmeralda García returned to her hometown of Santiuste de San Juan Bautista to take over her family’s old Verdejo vineyards. Planted in dry, sandy soils untouched from phylloxera. Many of these vines remain on their original rootstocks, some estimated to be over 200 years old. Pretty mental if you ask me.

Esmeralda now cultivates four distinct sites, each with its own altitude and soil profile. This diversity allows her to craft a range of cuvées, each with a unique and expressive character of grape and place. Thanks to the region’s arid climate, she farms without pesticides or chemical inputs, and in the cellar, she takes a hands-off approach.

As the Rueda appellation continues to modernise, welcoming international varieties and broader styles, Esmeralda’s wines offer a compelling counterpoint. True terroir-driven Verdejo that speaks to the region’s past as much as its future.