Emilio Lustau, Jerez

History

One of the most prestigious wine shops in Jerez dates back to 1896 when it was founded by Don Jose Ruiz-Berdejo, a legal secretary who cultivated a modest vineyard on the outskirts of Jerez called Finca Nuestra Senora de la Esperanza. Here he produced and stored his own wines. Later he sold wines to large exporters.

He died in the 1930s and in 1940 his son-in-law Don Emilio Lustau Ortega from Granada took over the company. He managed to combine a rather impressive military career with that of a bodeguer when he decided to move the bodega to the old Santiago area in the heart of Jerez.

He also invested in other vineyards, in 1948 he bought Pago La Guita in Balbaina and Pago Pino Fiel in Raboatun, followed in 1962 by Pago la Cruz de Usillo in Balbaina. Emilio started exporting wines in the 1950s. In 1962 the company became an SA (limited liability company) and his sons took over.

In 1990, Lustau was bought by Luis Caballero, a producer of sherry, brandy and liqueurs in Puerto de Santa Maria.