In 1789, Carlos V granted Pedro José PérezValiente a title of nobility. Nearly a century later, we find one of hisdescendants in Ciudad Real, the Count of Casavaliente, an old school landownerconverted into the greatest landowner of the province. Among his belongings,not only do we find Casa de la Viña, but also several surrounding hillsides andother nearby properties, making him the owner of a little kingdom of up to10.000 hectares of land.
He was the one responsible for initiatingthe vine plantation at the property back in 1857 not with the goal ofelaborating wine himself but instead of selling the grapes to other winemakersof the region.
The current building, which houses thewinemaking facilities dates back two centuries as well. It is an old countryhouse of two stories with whitewashed walls, its noble wing made up of wideliving rooms which have presently been converted into offices, a tasting-room,and 15 bedrooms on the upper floor.
There is a little entrance porch which hasbeen converted into a brick arch with smooth lines, partially hidden behind anold elm-tree whose roots have formed undulations in the cobbled yard. In alittle granary nearby one can contemplate the 16 earthenware jars which servedas deposits for the conservation of wine a very long time ago. These taper atthe bottom and one can imagine how long ago the solid particles in the wineused to collect there.
The large inner patio, surrounded by oldstables, appears today empty and unaware of the hustle of old times, the noiseof the cattle and the presence of labourers. Beyond the boundaries of the houseitself, one enters into open countryside, where at times the only trace ofmankind witnessed is the thought of how the skill of man has transformed thelandscape into a vast garden of vines and crops.
CURRENT SITUATION
Since the times of the Count ofCasavaliente, when the extent of land owned was as large as 4,000 hectares, theproperty passed through several hands up until it was bought by its currentowners, the SAT Anaypa. There was a time when the lands were hired out to theObregons, a family from Segovia that continued the tradition of cultivation ofvines. This tradition was carried on by its next owner, Angel Huertas, memberof a long lineage of winemakers from La Mancha. However, during this time, theagricultural exploitation of the land continued, but the grape was always soldafter harvesting, there was no wine production.
Eventually, after several phases, theplantation exceeded a million vines and at a cost of 125 million pesetas (inthe old currency). The winemaking, still small-scale, was initiated in the80's.
After the acquisition of the winery byBodegas y Bebidas in 1987, the company then went on to sell the vineyards in1996 to a long-standing agricultural family company, SAT Anaypa, which since,has continued to invest in improving the vineyards, now 40 years old and intheir prime of life as well as further restructuring and planting othervarietals.
The winery itself was sold to the DomecpGroup and then to Pernot-Ricard but eventually in 2010 SAT Anaypa managed toacquire the winery also and thus formed the equivalent of a chateau, a winerywith its own mansion situated within its estate.
Things started to change, when in the 70s,the then Bilbao Bank, acquired the property with the idea of creating a smallscale winery and took on the task of restructuring the vineyard, ripping androoting out old vines and initiating new plantations which would make it thegreatest single vineyard in Europe. The work took place at a frenetic pace;some 7,000 vines were planted daily in trellis instead of bush vines and spacedout at 3x2 metres, with a view towards using harvester machines from theoutset.
In 1789, Carlos V granted Pedro José PérezValiente a title of nobility. Nearly a century later, we find one of hisdescendants in Ciudad Real, the Count of Casavaliente, an old school landownerconverted into the greatest landowner of the province. Among his belongings,not only do we find Casa de la Viña, but also several surrounding hillsides andother nearby properties, making him the owner of a little kingdom of up to10.000 hectares of land. 
the cattle and the presence of labourers. Beyond the boundaries of the houseitself, one enters into open countryside, where at times the only trace ofmankind witnessed is the thought of how the skill of man has transformed thelandscape into a vast garden of vines and crops. 
1789
