The Winery
Located in the Peñafiel, the heart of Ribera del Duero, in one of the most emblematic buildings of the region built in 1914. The winery was founded in 2002 with the objective of making a super-premium wine from Ribera del Duero. The winery was equipped with all the top-notch technology to make small production fine wine, a total capacity of 120,000Kg.

The barrel cellar is located underground to maintain humidity and temperature. 500 barrels of 95% French oak and 5% American from a wide range of different cooperages to create different levels of complexity.

The Knight of Zifar
Bodegas Zifar obtains its name from the first novel about Knights written in Spanish, in the style of Shakespeare. Written in 1300 it tells the story of the good Knight Zifar whose misfortunes forced him to leave the kingdom, leading him on to an endless list of adventures until he was able to return and become King. It is a valuable part of Spanish literature, and the original remains in the Louvre today.

Our Vines
This is this almost obsessive part of the winery and the key to their wines. The winery started with an exhaustive search of the best vineyards in the Ribera del Duero. Our favourite area is Pesquera del Duero where they grow grapes with good acidity that offer intense fruit character to our younger wines thanks to the type of soil.

They are obsessed by altitude. They love vineyards over 900 m. The region is hot, and the vines benefit immensely with a little extra altitude for acidity and freshness. They do not like big over bold heavy wines. As The Wine Advocate explains ..” It is difficult to find new exciting things in Ribera del Duero, but Zifar offers that. They are not afraid to make softer, more elegant styles.”

Their other vineyards are located in the very special Quintanilla de Arriba which has altitude and privileged soils which gives them special characteristics for their wines. Some of their vineyards are over 100 years old, but all put together, create a unique blend of fruit from different soils. That gives layers of complexity in the wines.

All the harvest is done following rigorous controls in the vineyard, selection in the vineyard, harvested by hand in cases of 15Kg. The grapes enter the winery on a selection table and each parcel lies vinified separately.  The harvest is based on soil type and point of ripeness. It is an obsession of theirs to pick at the perfect moment, which often means they have many days of harvesting tiny amounts.

Zifar works with cool pre fermentation, during which we begin pump overs to extract all the noble components of our lovely grapes as soon as possible. Once alcoholic fermentation begins, all work done slows down and is much gentler. Malolactic fermentation follows for the reds before barrel aging in a wide range of barrels.

In 2017, Zifar were the first winery to make a D.O Ribera de Duero White wine, with the grape Abillo Real. Only 2 barrels are made.