It was Don Camilo Hurtado de Amézaga, Marqués de Riscal de Alegre, who in 1860, through his revolutionary ideas, put his mark on the Spanish wine historical map. His innovative methods imported from Bordeaux, much criticised at that time, brought a new way of understanding and elaborating our best wines. His search for improvement spread rapidly, thus contributing to the renewal initiated by Don Manuel Quintano y Quintano. Also known as " Merino, the priest", this learned cleric expounded, for the first time, the need to produce wines in the Bordeaux style. he traditional methods gave way to the most revolutionary winemaking technology from Bordeaux. The keys to the creation of the best wines could be summarised by four basic steps: 1. The careful separation of the stem from the grape berry. 2. Patient fermentation in wooden vats. 3. Continuous racking of the wine from barrel to barrel for aeration and elimination of solid matter. 4. Clarification with egg white. Wines, for the first time in Spain, were elaborated with Merlot, Malbec, Pinot Noir and other varieties. These new incorporations did not substitute the indigenous varieties such as Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano, rather the masterful combination of both origins gave rise to the unique accent of the Riscal wines. Visit the Marques de Riscal website.