Victoria Pariente and Victoria Benavides are behind an unusual project in the Rueda and Toro Denominations. In just seven years, their determination and love of wine have enabled them to produce wines that have joined the ranks of Spain’s best.

At the Dos Victorias winery, things come in twos. Two enterprising, hard-working friends with an original project, two Denominations of Origin and two great wines—José Pariente and Elías Mora.

In 1998, two oenologists—Victoria Pariente (a chemist) and Victoria Benavides (an agriculturist)—decided to set up a small winery in Rueda and the very first product they placed on the market was soon seen to be one of Spain’s best white wines. It is José Pariente, made from the local Verdejo variety, and named after the first Victoria’s father who used to own a small bodega while also running the much-loved “España” bar in the town of Rueda. José Pariente is a wine offering marked typicity, and is first in a new generation of Rueda wines that give full expression to the Verdejo grapes.

After their success in Rueda, these two winemakers almost immediately felt the need to make red wines. They chose the district of San Román de Hornija (Valladolid) within the Toro DO, and soon another great label appeared - Elías Mora, named in honour of a friend of theirs, the former owner of the Castilian vineyards that he had tended for 40 years. This Toro wine is also based on a native variety, Tinta de Toro, and is a powerful, fleshy drink with good tannins and excellent fruitiness.