Our History

Founded in 1647, Bodegas Julián Chivite is the oldest wine producing dynasty in Spain. For eleven generations the winemaking tradition has been passed down through the Chivite family. During this time, the firm has grown from its original establishment in Navarra to estates in Rioja and Ribera del Duero, while becoming the most important, as well as one of the most respected, producers and exporters of Navarra’s wines.

The Chivite history begins with a document from the 17th century. A notarized loan dated August 1647 documents that the Chivite family already owned vineyards and a winery of substantial size at that time. The winemaking tradition has passed through the family since then. In 1860, Claudio Chivite Rández took advantage of the oidium crisis in French vineyards and began exporting wines to fill the sudden demand in the north. Later in the 19th century, the Chivite’s house in Cintruénigo became the General Inn, or Parador, which was frequented by buyers and coaches en route to Madrid, spreading the Chivite name and providing a boon to the winery’s success.

In the 20th century Julián Chivite Marco, convinced that the future of wine lay in a dedication to quality, made major renovations to the bodega. His commitment to this ideal, both in his own wines and in his work as a founding member of the Regulatory Council of the Denominación de Origen de Navarra, was a recognized in 1992 with the Encomienda de la Orden del Mérito Agrario by the King of Spain, and posthumously in 1997 with the Cruz de Carlos III el Noble.

The bodega in Cintruénigo was most recently renovated in 1988, when state-of-the-art viticultural and vinification technology was introduced. At the same time, the family purchased the Señorío de Arínzano estate in Aberín. In 1998, the family acquired Viña Salceda winery and vineyards in Rioja Alavesa and three years later the La Horra estate in Ribera del Duero.

Currently the Chivite family owns a total of nearly 600 hectares of vineyards, with another 430 hectares controlled and carried under long-term contract.