Ruth & Ana de Andres
Spain
Two sisters, both very different, making delicious wine together
- Meet superstar sisters Ruth and Ana de Andres. Despite both forging careers in separate fields they both knew that their real passion was wine. With Ruth’s winemaking talent and Ana’s sharp mind, they’re rocking our wine world.
- They work really closely with their growers, learning from their generations of experience to make sure that every drop is downright delicious from vine to wine.
- For them, the real challenge is making exciting and incredible wines for people to drink everyday, not to sit on that rack gathering dust. Wine that doesn’t need a special occasion for you to crack open a bottle.
Vineyard Location
Ruth & Ana de Andres's Story
Ruth and Ana's Story
We are two sisters very different but both very restless. Summing up:
Ruth: Winemaker. Degree in Chemistry (University of Oviedo) and Enology (University of Valladolid). She spent some time in Sheffield, as researcher in Chemistry university. She also studied postgraduate degrees in University of Burdeos and University of Barcelona.
Ana: Project Manager. Degree in Psychology (University of Salamanca) and Work Science, she has studied in the University of Turku (Finland) and The University of Green Bay (USA).
But the thing is that:
Ruth always noted for her cheeky sense of smell, who would have thought that later became one of their professional tools! Working, has shown me to have a knack to bring out the extraordinary. She goes on being so forgetfulness and she still amazes me for her concentrating ignoring the rest of the world, just like when we were doing our homework.
Ana is the little one, and, perhaps because of that, she has strong character and an iron will. She has always been the great defender of lost causes. She headed her vehemence toward a persistent and organized job. What she still keeps is her big smile and her desire to take on the world.
Why did you become a winemaker?
Since child, I love aromas, flavors and all related to nose sense. That is why I became a chemist. But the wine world has been always related to me. Our mother used to buy wine magazines, she was a member of a wine club, she used to attend tastings… so wine was always close to us. Even if our family doesn’t own a winery or vineyards.
When I finished my Chemist degree I moved to Sheffield and I was researching in the university. I applied even to do a PHD in Manchester University… but finally I decided that pipettes, flasks and chemical reactors were great but I need more charm in my life. The option of become a winemaker comes naturally. I started in the University the degree and I love it. From the very beginning I was fascinated and I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do in my life.
How long have you been making wine?
Since I started my degree in Winemaking I was collaborating and doing stage in wineries. So it is about 15 years.
What is it about your job that you love?
We love our job. We are very lucky and we enjoy with every step. But, the most incredible thing is people of wine business. We learn enormously from winegrowers. It is remarkable the ancient wisdom they share. In a technological, globalized world, having the opportunity to come across this people, whose work is essentially influenced by nature, and whose experience is inherited through generations is simply magical. All the knowledge they accumulate. A knowledge passed down through generations. The things that you never will learn in the University. The things that you will not read in a book. Just experience and savoir- faire.
What makes your wines special?
We make unique products, unusual elaborations, we want to transmit values and we want to respect the land. We investigate, seek, travel, try, compare, know and talk. We talk. We talk a lot to producers, consumers, buyers and sellers; with people with experience, from the trade and also with newcomers. And all this to create products: products that excite.
What style is your passion and why?
We feel very close to everyday wines. It is fantastic to make outstanding wines, super expensive and top. But for us, it is a challenge, exciting and motivating, to make incredible wines at affordable prices. Wines that you drink every day, that you never get tired, wines for sharing… wines that don’t need an extraordinary situation to be opened.
We look for artisanal wines. We are not for the industrial, homogenous wine. We hate boring wines. Difference is a value for us and we want to show it through wines. And when you make a proper winemaking from quality grapes, final result is always charming.
We think Spain is the perfect country to do it. In every single village, vineyards are present. When travel across the country, you can discover grape varieties, terroirs and winegrowers showing a different approach and another view to wine. That is fascinating.
Most memorable moment making wine?
More than making it was growing vines. When I studied in Bordeaux, I was stagier at Château Pape Clement. I was very closed to viticulture manager director and I love that part of the work. Once, he asked if I wanted learning to prune. Of course, I replied! It was a terrible, horrible, cold, rainy day in Bordeaux. I was assigned to a group of 4 very experienced Portuguese men. They patiently taught me everything. Despite the rain, they took all the time to prune each plant: firstly they look at the plant, carefully to evaluate how it was last year, what it needs this year and how to prune. First day it was so hard! I remember arriving at home, completely soaked, frozen and my fingers destroyed by scissors and wire. Little by little, I learn to look at the plant, see its past and look at its future. And then cut! It was magical. I realized that we are just an insignificant part of the nature and our task is just not to spoil the heritage.
