BUILDING HISTORY

The building contains our museum and is one of few places that has a millenial tradition of producing wines. In the structure of the building we can appreciate the fusion of the different cultures that have lived in Ronda.

The old Ronda occupied only an small part of the actual old city, nowadays the Plaza Duquesa de Parcet and surroundings, and it was the only place in which are found archeological remains from the Roman period. In the restoration of the museum we take out many “anphoras,” “jars” , used for the production of wine and oil.

In the same entrance of our building we can see an octagonal column with geometric figure in the capital that belongs to the “orientalizante “ period.

In the same courtyard we can find a Roman frieze, this structure correspond with “ roman villae” : we also find several columns around the courtyard in which are spread all the rooms ,from the same roman period and we can also appreciate a “lagar “(a place where grapes were pressed ) of solid stone possibly from “ibero “ culture.

 During the Arab Period in this block was situated the great King of Ronda´s Palace, and we can find remains from the well Known “ Casa del Gigante”, where these rooms were used like a winery, and reusing the warehouseman tools in earlier times.

The floor of the central courtyard is hollow and there was a cistern to collect the grape juice from the press grapes. From this same period is kept the “L” shape in the main entrance just to keep privacy of one`s house. In the Christian period it was used like a winery and it was in this period when the wooden balcony in ”Castellano” Style was added.

From this period to nowadays this building has been used like a wine cellar and during the 80s stopped to producing wine: the last production of wine was approximaly 100. 000 litres.

TRADITIONAL PRODUCTION OF WINES.

Firstly animals unloaded directly in the “lagar “ during all the day in grape haverst In the lagar maked the first crushed and took out the 80%of grape juice and then it were passed in large earthenware jar ( “ tinajas “) .

Then the juice were in the cistern , place in which fermented 25 days : this process called alcoholic

fermentation and the sugar that contains the grape turns into alcohol. After that the grape juice were moved into barrels and aged a lot and finally it were sold or bottled in the city and transported in the cart.

According Sanitary rules is not possible to produce wine in our building, and for that reason Bodegas la Sangre de Ronda has been used as Cultural space and like a Wine Museum.
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