D.O. RIBERA DEL DUERO
BODEGAS ZIFAR
Afueras de Don Juan Manuel, 9-11. 47300. Peñafiel. Valladolid.
Tel: 983 873 147 - Fax: 983 880 287
Web: www.zifar.com - E-mail: bodegaszifar@zifar.com

The winery is located in Peñafiel, near the historic Coso Square, and the Roman bridge leading to "el Valdobar", it also overlooks the amazing castle which now houses the Wine Museum.


HISTORY

The winery is located in Peñafiel. Then building which, dates back to the early 20th century, was built of stone and Mudejar brick, following the simple style of that time. It was fully restored in 2002. It is made up by three naves, one of which is underground. There is also a beautiful interior gardened yard which will be used, in the near future, for different activities having to do with wine tours

Bodegas Zifar owes its name to the very first Knight book ever written in Castilian, "Zifar, the Knight". An Anonymous book attributed by some to Fernand Martínez who was a notary public at the time of King Alphonse X. The book seems to have been written in the early 14th century A copy of it was made for the library of Henry IV of Castile, which shows the extreme lavishness the king loved to be surrounded by. When Henry IV died the book became part of the library of Isabel I.

Later, in 1526 it formed part of the library of Margarita of Austria and a few years later, in 1565 it could be found in the library of Mary of Hungary, who was the sister of Emperor Charles V. In 1796 the book reached Paris where Napoleon admired it and took it to the Bibliothéque Impériale where it has remained since then.

FACILITIES

The wine making building has a production capacity of about 150,000 kg featuring state of the art facilities (grape sorting table, peristaltic pumps, temperature control, ...) in order to get the highest quality wines.

The Cask Ageing Area has a capacity of 500 barrels. French Oak Barrels (60%) and American Oak barrels (40%) coming from the most prestigious coopers. This room was built underground in order to get the right humidity grade and constant temperature.

At Bodegas Zifar, our dedication to wine quality starts in the vineyard. We take into account the soils and select the very best lots of the different towns which make up the DO Ribera del Duero. A pretty close relationship between our wine maker, the farmers and the selected lots allows us to reach the highest quality during the harvest. Grapes are handpiked, then taken to the winery in 20 kg boxes. At the winery, grapes are sorted, destemmed and partially crushed. Once in the vats, they undergo a pre-fermenting maceration at a controlled temperature. After the malolactic fermentation, the wine is racked and put to age. Once fermentation is over, and decided how long maceration will last, the skins are pressed. The new wine will allow the malolactic fermentation to take place, and once this is over, wine will age in oak vats for a year.

Wine is racked and clarified several times and then bottled and labeled .

WINES FROM THE WINERY

Crianza 2003,  54.000 bottles, 0.75 l
Crianza 2004, 48.920 bottles, 0.75 l
Crianza 2005, 40.000 bottles, 0.75 l