4ojoswines, a small artisan winery nestled in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, is the brainchild of three rebellious winemakers: Olga Sánchez, Lucía Fuentes, and Desirée Rodríguez. These three friends, fresh from completing their Viticulture degrees in 2015, seized a unique opportunity: access to the very facilities where they’d honed their craft. Determined to carve their own path amidst the established giants of the region, they dared to do something different: create dry Moscatels, a style previously unheard of in Cádiz, using grapes grown in the region’s famed white albariza soil.
Their inaugural Moscatel Seco de Albariza, aptly named Setback, is a testament to the challenges—and joys—they’ve faced. They affectionately refer to it as their “rebellious little child,” a wine that has given them its fair share of headaches but ultimately, immense satisfaction. A pivotal moment arrived when a 3-star Michelin chef, recognizing its unique character, selected Setback for the wine list at his Cádiz restaurant, Aponiente (whose sommelier has since been crowned “Best Sommelier of Spain”). This recognition propelled the trio to relocate to a small warehouse in El Puerto de Santa Maria, and as their enterprise flourished, they once again expanded, moving to a larger space that allows them to continue their exciting growth.
From vineyard to bottle, Olga, Lucía, and Desirée maintain complete control over their winemaking process. With a minimal intervention philosophy, they strive to capture their own personalities and the distinct character of the land. Techniques like foot-treading grapes and biological aging in old wooden sherry casks are just part of their unconventional approach, proving that sometimes, the most soulful wines are born from a little bit of rebellion.
