Protos Roble

In 1927 a group of eleven winegrowers decided to set up a cooperative. It was the Peñafiel Cooperative Society 'La Primera en la Ribera del Duero'. Its purpose was to produce quality wine. Throughout the 1930s, it began to be known internationally thanks to the gold medal that two of its red wines, from the 1927 and 1928 vintages, won at the 1929 Barcelona Universal Exhibition.

In 1931, the cooperative became an agricultural syndicate under the name of Bodega Ribera el Duero 'La Primera en la Ribera'. In 1947 it returned to cooperative status: the Cooperativa Bodega Ribera del Duero de Peñafiel with fifty-two members. In 1974 the cooperative had 282 members.

At the same time, the need to expand its facilities in the region was recognised in view of market expectations. Construction began on a new winery at the foot of the Peñafiel castle, with a capacity for 3500 barrels, expanded in 1995 to 8500.

In the 1980s, and as a consequence of the creation in 1982 of the Regulatory Council for the area, the winery changed its original name, Bodegas Ribera del Duero, to Bodegas Protos (from the Greek protos, first). It ceded this name to the council, authorising its use to identify the Ribera del Duero denomination of origin, which will ensure the quality of the area's wines.

The project continued to grow and years later acquired a new winery in Anguix (Burgos).

In 1990 the cooperative became a public limited company, but five years later, in 1995, it became a private limited company. In 1999 they collaborated financially in the creation of the Provincial Wine Museum, located in the castle of Peñafiel.

In 2006 it became part of the Rueda Designation of Origin, producing white wine from the Verdejo grape variety. It also began the construction of a new winery in La Seca (Valladolid) and marketed the first vintage of Protos Rueda Verdejo.

In 2013, the US magazine Wine & Spirits chose Protos as "winery of the year". It was also the first Spanish winery to obtain the "mark of excellence" certificate from the international organisation 'Superbrands', in 2012.