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Thank you for visiting our new blog. We are two “struggling vines” with a lot of dreams. A husband and wife team with a boutique winery located in Elvillar, Rioja Alavesa, Spain. David is the talent behind the wines, a man of few words that works tirelessly in the vineyards and winery. I’m the communication side of the business … I love to tell our stories! … Continue reading Who We Are
Espadán Corks provided this beautiful example of the evolution of the cork. Our partnership with Espadán Corks is the perfect reflection of values; they produce high quality and ecologically sound products. This family-owned business takes great care in their production of corks, which are certified by the Forest Steward Council (FSC). The FSC certification ensures the end user that the product upholds the principles and … Continue reading The Art of Wine: The Cork
Las Naves, the vineyard that greets visitors upon arrival to the winery. For the longest time, I didn´t truly appreciate her beauty. In my naiveté, it was average and I tended to judge it by what appeared to be its rich red topsoil. To me, it was like a spoiled child that never had to work for anything. You see, I’m accustomed to the white … Continue reading Las Naves: A Letter of Forgiveness
***Edit long overdue. No sooner did I post this and we decided to stop buying grapes and rent the vineyards from another viticulture in the village. This allows us to farm everything – from Bhilar to our Single Vineyard wines – in the same manner and control the entire process 100%…from farming to bottle. I will leave this post here for those who want to … Continue reading The Sustainable Side of Bhilar
With the ongoing construction of our home and winery, we are makings decisions and laying plans for our future on a daily basis. We were struggling to find the time to think about the landscape design surrounding our property. All the while, an obvious and sustainable solution was emerging right in front of us. The road that ascends from the river Ebro to our … Continue reading Between Olives and Vines
David’s reaction when his first “palo” arrived was quite similar to the boy in this commercial, finding immense value in an object where most would find none. To me, it is humorous to witness such reactions from a man who generally holds a serious demeanour. Yet with his stick (palo), another trailblazer story has come to pass. A few years back David experimented with posts … Continue reading Un Palo!
Another year has passed, so I’ve decided to recap our harvest, which was nothing short of a miracle for many reasons. The first fruit of our labor (actually my labor) arrived on Tuesday, September 13th with the birth of our 2nd son. While in labor, David enlightened me with a little nugget of information on the drive to the hospital; in Spain, Tuesday the 13th … Continue reading 2016 Harvest Report
I’ve had a change of heart with the start of the new year. The birth of our 2nd son combined with work at the winery has prevented any form of promotion of my memoir. When I released it, I swore I would never offer it for free via Kindle due to the amount of time, effort, money and the fact that it is our personal … Continue reading Struggling Vines FREE eBook Promotion via Kindle
The adage states Struggling Vines make the best wine. My husband, David Sampedro, viticultor from Rioja Alavesa, has had to struggle every step of the way to get where he is today. We hope this adage will prove itself with the realization of a dream, our very own winery located outside of his village, Elvillar. In a country where heritage is fiercely protected and passed down … Continue reading Realization of a Dream for Rioja’s Struggling Vine, David Sampedro
Why the name Phincas? A common question. David claims that many names for his wines were decided over numerous glasses with friends. If I may digress for a moment, who discusses PHI while drinking?!? Anyway … the first half of the equation is a play on words, “finca” in Spanish roughly translates to vineyard. David replaced the “f-i” with PHI to represent the Golden Ratio. … Continue reading PHI, Phincas, and The Golden Ratio
“One Man’s Trash is Another’s Treasure” Shortly after purchasing the Hapa Vineyard, David inquired how much money we had remaining in my retirement fund, to which I quickly replied “ZERO! We cannot afford any more vineyards!” – Yes, I can read his mind – David has a tendency to do “research” while he’s supposed to be exercising, and one day while biking he “stumbled” upon … Continue reading Saving Old Vines: (Part 2) San Julian
Struggling Vines 