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The recent history of Bodegas Ochoa begins in 1845, a date carved in stone at the old cellar in Olite. Before, it seems that Valerio Ochoa, Mayor of the village in 1837, was the owner of a wine cellar in the town.
The new impulse, the leap in the national and international spheres (the leap of national and international quality), was made by Nicolás Ochoa, who won an honourable mention at the National Wine Exhibition of 1877 and a golden medal in Bordeaux, in 1882. His wines were also distinguished with a bronze medal at the Universal Exhibition of Barcelona, in 1888. In fact, the name of Ochoa crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1892, after 5,000 decalitres of wine were sent to Chicago (USA).
In 1897, after the grape phylloxera devastated the whole vineyards of Navarra and Europe, Olite, due to the initiative of Nicolás Ochoa, turned into the experimental field for the new vineyard. The wine-producing and viticulture tradition continued with Javier Ochoa (who died in 1917 and contributed with his alcohol factory taking part in the first Spanish wine cooperative) and with the married couple formed by Joaquín Ochoa Leoz and Victoria Luna.
However, it was Adriano Ochoa Luna (1908-1964) who firmly settled our current winery and assumed the leadership of the vineyard and the wine cellar.
Adriano Ochoa planted 80 hectares of vineyards at the “Plana de Olite”, and his wine was really appreciated in the Basque Country. Thus, he extended his winery and bottled the first red wines previously aged in wood barrels. In 1940, after some contacts with German technicians, he set up a vinegar factory in Pamplona, an innovative business at that time. The business was really successful until Adriano sold it in 1955 to devote himself in depth to viticulture and other business.
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