About us

Estancia Piedra S.L. is a premium quality wine estate, whose buildings and vineyards are attractively sighted on the slopes of the Guareña Valley, 10 km south of the ancient town of Toro, in heart of Old Castile.

Since its foundation in 1998, the winery has grown in stature and critical acclaim and is now universally regarded as a leading bodega in the modern era of the D.O. Toro. In addition, Estancia Piedra wines are frequently counted amongst the “new classic” wines of Spain.

The secret of this success lies in the vineyard, where Estancia Piedra winery owns some 59 ha of mostly Tinta de Toro grapes, planted as the traditional bush vines. The average age of these vines is 40 years, and some of the vines in the single vineyard site “Paredinas” reach ages of 100 years or more. The success of our bodega also derives from its ultra-modern winery, where the latest technology and strict quality control are deployed at every stage of the winemaking process. This process is directed by a highly qualified team, driven by a passion to achieve something special from this remarkable site.

The history of this estate lies in the foresight and ambition of Grant Stein, who found in Toro a vineyard and a terroir where he felt that he could realise his dream: to set up and create a new high-quality wine label using estate-grown fruit. But why Toro? And why did a Scottish lawyer with no previous links to the area choose to come to the heart of the Duero to fulfil his dream?

Maybe this isn’t so strange, if one takes a look back at the history of winemaking in the Iberian Peninsular. Certainly, casting an eye over the famous names of Sherry and Port, it’s easy to see that they have as much in common with the language of Shakespeare as with that of Cervantes. And futher afield, the British have long been involved in the world of fine wine, with London today perhaps the pre-eminent centre of the global wine trade.

Grant Stein has a keen personal interest in the world of fine wine, but was particularly drawn to Spain by the potential offered by the country, the attractive lifestyle, by its attractive economic arguments and because of his ability to speak Spanish. At that stage, in 1998, the D.O. Toro showed the greatest potential for expansion and was drawing the attention of numerous experts for a variety of reasons:

The D.O. Toro experiences a dry, continental climate, with some extremes of temperature, which is well-suited to the production of healthy grapes. The local grape variety, Tinta de Toro, has adapted to thrive under these conditions and is able to produce high quality wines which are an accurate reflection of this exceptional local terroir.

Toro also offered other advantages. It sits astride the River Duero, a river which lies at the heart of more high quality vineyards than any other in the world. It is also well-communicated, connected by motorway to major regional centres, with Madrid just 2 hours away. Additionally, the international airport at Valladolid lies 60 km to the east. So, with the region decided, all that remained was to find the right vineyard...

By good fortune, it was at that time that the largest contiguous vineyard block in the D.O. Toro became available on the market. This block was also extremely well situated and orientated and was formed from a number of old bush vines, planted under the marco real system. This block forms the core of the Estancia Piedra vineyard assets and a modern winery was soon constructed, encircled by these vines. Estancia Piedra also makes selective purchases of grapes from the surrounding area from low-yielding vineyards with ages in the range 30 – 100 years, always in keeping with the style of the original block.

Today, the wines of Estancia Piedra manage to combine the best of old and new and reveal the true personality and charm of this exceptional tierra. These elegant wines showcase the fruit and complexity of the Tinta de Toro variety and this is further enhanced by the judicious use of French and American oak. The wines of Estancia Piedra are then further bottle-aged in the winery’s own cellars, as necessary, sometimes for a number of years, so that they may be enjoyed immediately upon release.

However, the ambition of Estancia Piedra goes further than this and the estate is also looking to create new wines from other varieties from the surrounding area, e.g. a wine from 100% Grenache. Positive results may lead to the expansion of the portfolio of products on offer on the market.


The first grapes were harvested in 1998. The philosophy of Estancia Piedra from the outset has been to maintain careful quality control over all aspects of the winemaking process, from grape to glass. As the winery was not yet constructed, these grapes were sold and the first vintage of Estancia Piedra wines was produced in 1999.