Miguel Merino is a family owned winery placed in Briones (Rioja Alta). The annual production is just over 30,000 bottles, which are shipped to more 30 countries. The property, of some three thousand meters, includes a house of stone, built in 1818, where the family home and the offices are; the aging room, with capacity for 350 barrels and some 90,000 bottles; the new vinification and bottling rooms; and an experimental vineyard of 1,020 square meters. The target of the company is to produce the best quality possible and to maintain the volume.

Since the beginning of Miguel Merino's exporting career he had long dreamt of having his own small "bodega", where he could make a few bottles of wine of the best quality possible. Briones, in the heart of the Rioja Alta,  gathered all the conditions he was looking for: old steep vineyards of Tempranillo grapes, chalky soil and a climate showing a marked Atlantic influence. Declared a town of historic and artistic merit, Briones is where he decided to site his bodega.

Twenty years ago, he restored an old 19th Century house on the outskirts of the town. On the adjoining land he built facilities for vinification, barrel and bottle aging and planted a small experimental vineyard.

Now, as one of the smallest and youngest wineries in Spain —his first vintage was 1994— his wines are among the most prestigious in the country, and we he is exporting them to over 30 markets. This encourages him to grow, not in quantity, but to constantly improve his style; how to get the best from each grape and each barrel. To continue to enjoy wine-making.

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