The Plaza de la Reina is the busiest city square in old town Valencia, Spain's third largest city and a port that handles over 20% of the country's exports - so a great deal of Spanish wine goes out to the world from here! It is a global city with a great gastronomic culture (trivia point - the sweet beverage horchata often associated with Mexican food was actually born in Valencia), deep history, and a patchwork of cultural influences. A beautiful hour-long drive southwest of the city takes one to the winery.

Tempranillo is a very dark red variety and one of Spain's most important, known to make age-worthy reds throughout the country. Grenache, also called Garnacha in Spain, is likely to have originated in northern Spain and does well in hot regions; plants are known to thrive commonly and become "old vines" that produce excellent fruit. Monastrell is named Mouvedre in France and is a small, thinner-skinned berry with higher perfumes and earthier flavors than the other two.