History

Bodegas Tritium was born from our depth of feeling for our old family vineyards: a love and care that today allows us to have eight hectares of different varieties aged between 90 and 113 years old. These vineyards were never subject to the great uprooting that occurred in La Rioja: the first of these took place in the 1960s-1970s, spurred on by the arrival of mechanised labour and the second in the 1980s-1990s with the arrival of the multinationals in the wine business.

Tritium Unlike in France where vineyard owners adapted their tractors to the width of the traditional vines, in the 60s and 70s Spanish vines were uprooted to allow a greater use of machinery and to simplify the tractors’ entrance into the vineyards. In the 80s and 90s a large demand for grapes within the Rioja AO, good prices (with almost no respect for quality) and the subsequent arrival of large corporate ownership saw the substitution of old varieties for new, high yielding ones. The subsequent loss of vineyards and viticultural heritage was very high for the sake of higher yields and profits.

We, however, opted to conserve our historic vineyards in order to preserve the genetic, original vines as well as the landscape and biodiversity of our land.

With a clear commitment to honour the best grapes from hundred year old vines, two childhood friends therefore joined forces in the knowledge that they could do something different with these vineyards. Thus, through mixing ambition with humility and, guided by a different way of understanding agriculture and wine, Bodegas Tritium conceived the idea of making artisan wine under its own brand: a wine that is not only well made but also respectful of its terroir.

Thus materialized a project linked to a deep winemaking tradition, over five generations of the same family, all dedicated to grape-growing in Cenicero and Tricio. It is from this town in Rioja, with its rich Roman history, that our name is derived: Bodegas Tritium.