Marques de Valdueza
Before we met Don Alonso, the Marques de Valdueza, we were quite determined that we did not need to add another oil to our list. We only agreed to see him at all because he was introduced to us by a mutual friend.
Two hours later we had a new supplier, charmed in to submission by him and by his son Fadrique, who had recently joined the family agricultural business, and by the quality of the oil and its packaging. We certainly do not regret it. They are serious farmers, and reflect the terroir of their hard Extremaduran land with the same commitment that their ancestors had when they travelled to South America many centuries ago. They are simply determined to do things well, and if that means spending money with an English designer to produce their labels, and employing the best agronomist to help them in their choice of olive varieties and where on their farm to plant them, so be it.
Two hours later we had a new supplier, charmed in to submission by him and by his son Fadrique, who had recently joined the family agricultural business, and by the quality of the oil and its packaging. We certainly do not regret it. They are serious farmers, and reflect the terroir of their hard Extremaduran land with the same commitment that their ancestors had when they travelled to South America many centuries ago. They are simply determined to do things well, and if that means spending money with an English designer to produce their labels, and employing the best agronomist to help them in their choice of olive varieties and where on their farm to plant them, so be it.
