2022 'Camino' Vinos de Madrid

Here, at the eastern end of the Sierra de Gredos mountains in Spain, a famous doctor from Madrid named Vincente Alvarez-Villamil purchased land in 1923. The site, which at the time was a full day's journey from Madrid, bore witness to its Celtic past, with ancient bears carved into rocks to mark forests dedicated to the goddess of the hunt.

But the estate, which Vincente named Bernabeleva, or forest of the bear, held more than just ancient history. He believed it was a special place to plant the noble Garnacha (Grenache) and a place whose wines could reveal a profound character. But the following decade brought increased political instability in Spain, and the civil war that broke out in 1936 devastated the country. Although the family kept the land, Vincente's dream of making wine came to an end for the time being.