A Fishers family joined the international wine business in a roundabout way that started with a U.S Air Force connection that led to picking grapes in Spain and eventually investing in a vineyard.
April Wood said her husband, Jeff Wood — who is president and CEO of Tom Wood Automotive Group — met French fighter pilot Peyo Iturria during a joint military exercise in Canada in the late 1990s. A friendship blossomed, and in 2011, Iturria invited the Woods to help harvest grapes at his cousin’s vineyard near Tordesillas, Spain, about 2 1/2 hours northwest of Madrid.
The Iturria family is from Bordeaux, France, which is famous for its wine, but the area is full of wineries. Iturria’s cousin, Xavier Iturria, opted to open his business in Spain rather than compete with the established businesses in France.
April Wood said they were excited to help harvest grapes in Spain.
“We were like, ‘Oh, yeah, that sounds amazing. And so much fun and just wonderful,’” she said. “We had no idea what we were talking about. We found out the hard way that it is very hard work — 12-hour-plus days of cutting the grapes and then processing them. I mean, literally back-breaking work.”
But, Wood said, they also learned to appreciate everything that went into making wine, and they loved the wine Xavier Iturria made and wanted to be a part of the business.
“We told Xavier, ‘This is just such good wine. This is something we would have at home,’” she said. “‘How could we help you get this into the U.S.?’”
Wood said that — again not knowing what they were getting into — they invested in the vineyard and worked to import Bodega Iturria wine to the United States.
“Through lots of investigation and asking questions of people and trying to figure out how to get that done, we were able to pair with an importer and a distributor,” she said, adding that the Spanish wine has been available in the Indianapolis area since about 2012. It’s also distributed in New York City, she said, and they’re working to expand its distribution.
Wood said it is challenging to get Spanish wine noticed in the United States because it’s not as recognizable as California or French wines. Bodega Iturria produces wine from Tempranillo grapes. The Valdosan variety is 100-percent Tempranillo, she said, and the dry red wine is aged 24 months in new oak barrels.
“And we only make about 3,000 bottles of that each year,” she said. “That is kind of our signature prized wine.”
The other variety, Tinto Iturria, is 90 percent Tempranillo and 10 percent Grenache. It’s not aged as long, Wood said, and they make a lot more of it — about 30,000 bottles a year.
“People really do enjoy it,” Wood said of both wines. “It’s just a matter of having people try it and being willing to kind of branch out from your typical California cabernet and try something new. They’re both very nice, elegant wines to drink.”
Both varieties are carried at SoBro Wine and Spirits in Indianapolis, Grapevine Cottage in Zionsville and Vine and Table in Camel. Tinto Iturria can be found at Big Red Liquors in Fishers and Storied Company in Indianapolis.
Some area restaurants also carry Iturria wines. They include Peterson’s in Fishers, Convivial in Carmel and Zionsville, HS Tavern in Fishers, and FoxGartin Family Kitchen in Fishers.
For more, visit bodegas-iturria.com.
