Women in Wine: Ana Mendez Gil

Versatus, evokes the heft of wedding silver and the delicacy of crystal goblets. This masterpiece is the handiwork of third-generation wine-maker Ana Mendez Gil of Genus De Vinum, in Ourense, Galicia.

Vinelands: Casa Los Frailes

In 1771, Maria Jose Velazquez’s ancestor bought at auction the house and property in the vall d’Albaida that, 200 years later, became Casa Los Frailes. Before Carlos III stamped them out, Jesuit friars (‘frailes’) lived in this small valley not far from the Mediterranean coast, tended vineyards, made wine and stored it in clay amphorae, tall as coffins, sunk into the cool earth in the low-beamed cellar.