The Vineyard Detective & the Altitude of Truth
Samuel Párraga is the young, fiercely independent viticulturist and oenologist behind Bodega Viñerón — one of the most vital natural wine projects in southern Spain. From an unmarked warehouse on an industrial estate in Coín, Málaga, he crafts zero-additive, single-vineyard wines from forgotten indigenous varieties scattered across the dramatic mountains of Málaga and Granada. Born into a family of humble farmers from Colmenar and Villanueva de Cauche in the Montes de Málaga, Samuel grew up watching his grandfather make wine for family consumption — not as commerce, but as a way of life. He studied Viticulture and Oenology in Manilva and then at the University of Cádiz, interned at Bodegas La Capuchina, and worked harvests in California and France. But it was tasting natural wine at La Casa del Perro in Málaga that revealed his path. In 2018, he made his first natural wines from leased, half-hectare plots in Cómpeta, Sedella, Cartajima, Mollina, and the Sierra Nevada foothills — vineyards ranging from sea level to 1,300 metres above it. His methodology is radical in its purity: organic farming, hand harvest, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, zero additives, no sulfites ever, no fining, no filtration, no forced stabilization. He makes plot wines exclusively — never blending musts from different vineyards — because each parcel has its own identity. His cellar is filled with amphorae, earthenware jars, wooden barrels, and manual presses; his sparkling wines are made by the ancestral method, bottled before fermentation completes. His labels — designed by Tiquismiquis Club — are coded by altitude (numbers) and wine type (colours), turning each bottle into a topographic map of Andalucía. With 15 different references and a production of just 15,000 bottles a year (and growing), Samuel is not merely making wine; he is rescuing the viticultural memory of a region that the modern world tried to erase — one forgotten vine, one slate slope, one ancestral bubble at a time.
Samuel Párraga & the Montes de Málaga
The story of Bodega Viñerón begins not in a grand bodega but in the humble farming households of Colmenar and Villanueva de Cauche, in the Montes de Málaga. Samuel Párraga's grandfather was a farmer who made wine for family consumption and local barter — not as a business, but as one more product of the land, alongside wheat, olives, and almonds. Samuel grew up in this world, helping in the vineyard and the cellar from childhood, absorbing the rhythms of harvest and fermentation before he ever knew they would become his life's work. The family made wine naturally, artisanally, and for their own table — a tradition that would later become Samuel's philosophy, stripped of the chemicals and corrections he would encounter in conventional wineries.
Driven by this inherited passion, Samuel pursued formal training in Viticulture and Oenology at Manilva, followed by Oenology and Viticulture at the University of Cádiz. He interned at Bodegas La Capuchina, worked harvests in California and France, and returned to Málaga to help with his father's project. But something unsettled him. In conventional wineries, he witnessed practices that stripped wine of its soul — corrective enzymes, added acids, industrial yeasts, filtration, and sulfites used as crutches. When he began tasting natural wines, the path became clear: he would make pure wines, without additives or aggressive treatments, from the indigenous varieties of his homeland. At the end of 2017, he began developing his personal project. In 2018, he made his first natural wines.
The early years were a process of viticultural detective work. Samuel spent months driving through the countryside, knocking on doors, and talking to elderly farmers who could no longer work their land but wished to see their vines preserved. He made agreements with them, cultivating forgotten plots of Romé, Montúa, Calona, Vijariega, and old Moscatel — varieties that had been pulled out, replaced, or simply abandoned as Málaga's wine industry consolidated around bulk production and fortified styles. These were not tidy, monocultural vineyards; they were the chaotic, co-planted parcels of traditional Andalucían agriculture, where multiple varieties grew together as they had for generations. Samuel embraced this chaos, recognising that each plot carried a unique identity that could not be replicated.
By 2020 and 2021, his curiosity had led him across dozens of soils, orientations, and grape types, always focusing on native varieties. Some plots were one-time experiments; others became the foundation of his range. Today, his bodega is an unmarked warehouse in Coín, loaned through the Centro Andaluz de Emprendimiento (CADE) incubator programme. It is filled with grape treading vats, wooden barrels, earthenware jars, manual presses, and pallets of bottles resting upside down so sediment can decant naturally. His partner, Beatriz Pérez Giménez, hand-labels each bottle. The operation is modest, almost invisible — yet the wines travel to Canada, the USA, the UK, Denmark, and Switzerland, snapped up by distributors who understand that what Samuel is doing is not merely winemaking but archaeology of the vine.
"By intervening as little as possible in the wine, what you get is a greater expression of the fruit, the yeasts, the soil and even the environment."
— Samuel Párraga
Slate, Limestone & 1,300 Metres
Málaga and Granada are provinces of dramatic contrasts — where the humid Mediterranean coastline quickly gives way to steep, terraced mountain slopes that have been cultivated since Roman times. While the Atlantic side of Andalucía has dominated international wine fame, the interior mountains of Málaga and Granada harbour a parallel, older tradition: one of co-planted indigenous varieties, slate soils, and family-scale viticulture that survived for centuries before nearly vanishing in the modern era. It is here, in this fragmented, high-altitude landscape, that Samuel Párraga has chosen to work.
The vineyards are leased, not owned — a patchwork of half-hectare and one-hectare plots scattered across Cómpeta, Sedella, the Montes de Málaga, Cartajima, Mollina, and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The altitudes range from coastal plains to 1,300 metres above sea level, with one particularly striking vineyard at 890 metres stretching across a steep slope interspersed with red poppies and wild herbs. The soils are equally diverse: slate dominates in the Montes de Málaga, allowing vines to root deeply and resist the punishing summer droughts without cracking; calcareous soils characterise Mollina; while clay, limestone, and sand appear across the various Granada foothill plots. This geological diversity is not a challenge Samuel tries to standardise — it is the very foundation of his work. Each soil type, each altitude, each orientation produces a different wine, and Samuel treats each as a distinct voice.
The farming is organic and chemical-free — no herbicides, no synthetic fertilisers, no chemical synthesis products. Samuel believes that plants cultivated without chemicals are stronger, more resilient, and capable of achieving harmony with the surrounding ecosystem. The grapes, in turn, carry greater vitality — a vitality that translates directly into wines of deeper expression and authenticity. All vineyard work is done by hand: pruning, harvesting, and tending. The old vines — many of them centenarian or near-centenarian — require particular care, their gnarled trunks and deep roots representing generations of accumulated knowledge encoded in wood and sap. The climate is humid Mediterranean at lower altitudes, shifting to cool mountain conditions above 1,000 metres, where refreshingly cool evenings preserve acidity and aromatics in ways that lower vineyards cannot match.
The result is a terroir that is not singular but plural — a constellation of microclimates and micro-terroirs that Samuel refuses to homogenise. He makes plot wines exclusively, never mixing musts from different vineyards, because each plot has its own identity. The slate gives concentration and mineral depth; the limestone provides freshness and structure; the high altitude contributes acidity and floral aromatics; the older vines add complexity and texture. This is not the Málaga of beach resorts and fortified wine; it is the Málaga of hidden valleys, forgotten varieties, and farmers who remember when wine was made without recipes — a Málaga that Samuel is determined to preserve, one lease agreement at a time.
Samuel Párraga is based in Coín, in the province of Málaga, with leased vineyards spanning both Málaga and Granada provinces. Founded in 2018. The project farms a few hectares of organic vineyards across Cómpeta, Sedella, Montes de Málaga, Cartajima, Mollina, and the Sierra Nevada foothills at altitudes up to 1,300 metres. Andalucía is one of Spain's most historic wine regions, with a deep winemaking tradition since Roman times, now experiencing a revival through young producers rescuing indigenous varieties from abandonment.
The vineyards sit on a mosaic of soils: slate in the Montes de Málaga, allowing deep rooting and drought resistance without summer cracking; calcareous soils in Mollina; and mixes of clay, limestone, and sand across the Granada foothills. The slate produces concentrated, mineral-driven wines. The limestone contributes freshness and structural tension. The high-altitude plots above 1,000 metres benefit from cool evenings that preserve acidity and aromatics. A terroir of fragments, each demanding to be heard as a single voice rather than blended into anonymity.
Organic farming with no chemical synthesis products, herbicides, or synthetic fertilisers. All vineyard work done by hand, including pruning and harvest. Only natural local yeasts used. Samuel believes that plants cultivated without chemicals achieve harmony with their ecosystem and produce grapes of greater vitality. The old and young vines include Moscatel, Pedro Ximénez, Romé, Montúa, Calona, Vijariega, Macabeo, Tempranillo, and Petit Verdot. The goal is maximum expression of each individual plot — grapes that carry the full fingerprint of their specific altitude, soil, and microclimate.
In his warehouse bodega in Coín, everything is done with zero additives and minimal intervention. Indigenous yeasts. Zero added sulfites — ever. No fining. No filtration. No forced stabilisation. Cleaning is achieved through decanting and time. Amphorae, earthenware jars, wooden barrels, and stainless steel are all used. Six of his fifteen references are ancestral sparkling wines, bottled before fermentation completes, capturing natural bubbles without added yeast or sugar. Some whites rest for a full year before bottling to ensure stability. Veneer closures are preferred over cork to preserve the wine's living character. The cellar is an extension of the vineyard — modest, manual, and uncompromising.
Zero, Zero, Zero & the Plot Wine
The guiding philosophy of Bodega Viñerón can be summarised in three words: zero, zero, zero — zero additives, zero sulfites, zero intervention. Samuel Párraga is committed to making wines that are pure, alive, and true to their specific place. His approach is the most minimal possible: organic farming, hand harvest, indigenous yeasts, no additives of any kind, no sulfur, no fining, no filtration, no forced stabilisation. He believes that the vineyard is the boss; the climate conditions matter enormously; and with natural wine, there are no correctives — if the acidity is low, you cannot add it. The grape must arrive perfect, and the cellar work must be flawless. This is not a romantic ideology; it is a technical discipline of the highest order.
The methodology is deliberately simple and fundamentally non-invasive. All grapes are hand-harvested from organic, chemical-free vines. Fermentation occurs spontaneously with natural local yeasts. For the reds, Samuel works with varieties like Romé, Montúa, Tempranillo, and Petit Verdot, using gentle extraction and aging in a mix of amphorae, earthenware jars, and wooden barrels. For the whites, Moscatel, Pedro Ximénez, Macabeo, and Vijariega are direct-pressed or briefly macerated, then aged in amphorae or stainless steel to preserve their natural aromatics and freshness. For the oxidative whites and sweet wines, he follows Andalucían tradition — but without the industrial shortcuts, allowing oxidation and concentration to develop naturally over time. For the ancestral sparkling wines — six of his fifteen references — he bottles the must before fermentation is complete, allowing the wine to finish fermenting in the closed bottle, capturing natural bubbles with the grape's own sugars and yeasts. Fernando Angulo of Cádiz is his reference for this method, but Samuel has made it distinctly his own.
The special cuvées are made with the same zero-additive rigour. Rapagón — the name means "young, beardless boy" — is his most accessible white, made from Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez in Mollina, designed to be served in restaurants at a reasonable price without compromising philosophy. Flor is a profound, experimental white made from Pedro Ximénez and Romé, aged for 18 months in amphora under a veil of flor — a nod to the biological aging traditions of the Sherry Triangle, but executed with natural wine purity. The ancestral sparkling wines — coded by altitude numbers like 0889 — are bright, bubbly, and alive, capturing the energy of high-altitude Palomino and other varieties in effervescent form. Each cuvée is a distinct expression of a specific plot, a specific grape, and a specific altitude, and each one is a testament to the conviction that forgotten vineyards on slate and limestone can produce wines of astonishing originality — provided the winemaker has the patience to wait, the courage to add nothing, and the humility to let the land speak.
The cellar is not a technological facility; it is a modest warehouse where amphorae sit alongside earthenware jars and wooden barrels, where Samuel does the work by hand and by intuition, and where bottles rest upside down for months so sediment can settle naturally. There is no consultant recommending corrective enzymes, no recipe that overrides the vintage, no pressure to produce polished, sterile bottles. There is only Samuel, the few hectares, the slate and limestone, and the patience to let each wine take the time it needs. The result is a portfolio of wines that are honest, precise, and alive — wines that have earned a devoted following among natural wine drinkers from Edinburgh to New York. As one sommelier noted, Samuel's wines are proof that quality is more important than a name — and that the natural approach, when executed with care and attention, does not produce dirty or faulty wines but rather gives life to something deeply personal and unique.
Indigenous Yeasts, Amphorae & Absolute Zero
The guiding principle of Bodega Viñerón is that the wine is made by the vineyard, guided by patience, and bottled with absolutely nothing added. Samuel's approach — organic farming on slate, limestone, clay, and sand across altitudes up to 1,300 metres, hand harvest from old and young indigenous vines, spontaneous fermentation with natural local yeasts in amphorae, earthenware jars, and wooden barrels, and bottling with zero additives, no sulfur, no fining, and no filtration — is not a rejection of his technical training but a transcendence of it. He cleans by decanting, not filtering. He stabilises by time, not chemicals. He sparkles by ancestral method, not added sugar. The amphorae and jars provide gentle micro-oxygenation and texture without imposing wood character. The zero-additive policy ensures that the wine speaks with the unvarnished voice of the slate, the mountain breeze, the old Moscatel vines, and the young man who chose to become a vineyard detective. The cellar is not a factory; it is a sanctuary where Samuel provides the patience, the intuition, and the absolute refusal to add what the Montes de Málaga have already given.
Rapagón, Flor, Ancestral Sparkling & the 15 References
Samuel Párraga produces a wide, evolving, and highly original portfolio of 15 different references from a few hectares of leased organic vineyards across Málaga and Granada. The wines are not merely bottles; they are topographic expressions — each cuvée a reflection of a specific plot, a specific altitude, a specific indigenous grape, and the patient, intuitive work of a young winemaker who farms everything by hand and follows a zero-additive philosophy with absolute discipline. The portfolio spans ancestral sparkling, white, orange, red, and sweet, all united by a common foundation: hand-picked grapes, indigenous yeasts, zero additives, no sulfites, no fining, no filtration, and no forced stabilisation. The labels are ingenious: numbers indicate altitude, colours indicate wine type, turning each bottle into a coded map of Andalucían terroir. The result is a range that is as diverse as it is coherent: bright, mineral whites from Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez; deep, oxidative flor-aged wines in amphora; juicy, honest reds from forgotten varieties; and effervescent ancestral sparklings that capture mountain freshness in bubble form. Each bottle is a distinct expression of a specific place, and each one is a testament to the conviction that a few hectares of rescued indigenous varieties on slate and limestone can produce wines of astonishing originality and drinkability.
Málaga & the Rescue of Memory
Samuel Párraga is not merely a winemaker; he is a viticultural archaeologist and a guardian of memory — a young man who has devoted his life to tracking down forgotten vineyards and rescuing grape varieties that time nearly erased. In an era when much of Andalucía's interior viticulture has been abandoned, replaced by avocado plantations, tourism development, or simply the economic impossibility of small-scale farming, Samuel represents something rare and vital: a bridge between the deepest traditions of Andalucían mountain viticulture and the most forward-thinking practices of minimal-intervention winemaking. He is proving that Málaga and Granada are not merely sources of fortified wine and beach holidays, but regions capable of producing fresh, mineral, honest wines of genuine originality and drinkability — provided the winemaker has the courage to farm organically, to work with ancestral methods, and to let the mountain speak.
The legacy of Bodega Viñerón extends beyond the bottle. Samuel's detective work — his hours spent talking to elderly farmers, locating old vines, and making agreements to preserve parcels that would otherwise be ripped out — is a model for viticultural preservation in an era of homogenisation. His commitment to indigenous varieties — to Romé, Montúa, Calona, Vijariega, and the others — is not merely a marketing story but a genuine act of conservation, preventing the varietal wealth of the region from being lost forever. His plot wine philosophy — never mixing musts from different vineyards — is a radical statement of terroir in a region where blending has long been the norm. And his zero-additive, zero-sulfite discipline is a technical achievement that demonstrates the highest level of natural winemaking: wines that are clean, bright, stable, and alive, without a single corrective or preservative.
The future of Bodega Viñerón is tied to the future of Andalucía's natural wine movement. As the region faces the challenges of climate change, rural depopulation, and the slow abandonment of traditional mountain agriculture, Samuel continues to expand his work — not in hectares owned, but in relationships cultivated and vines rescued. More old vineyards of Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez. More experiments with amphorae and the ancestral method. More wines that push the boundaries of what Málaga can be. And more wines that taste of nothing but the mountain — the slate, the limestone, the cool evenings at 1,300 metres, the old vines, and the quiet persistence of a young man who started in his grandfather's cellar and ended up making zero-additive wine in a warehouse in Coín. The story of Bodega Viñerón is the story of a farmer's grandson who chose to honour his homeland by making wines that are alive, honest, and true to each specific place — wines that carry the altitude, the soil, and the memory of the people who planted them. It is a story that is still being written — one bottle, one vintage, one rescued vine at a time.
"Samuel's wines are proof that quality is more important than a name. For starters, the cleanliness, brightness and colours are a feast."
— Sur in English