Pingus creator wins inaugural winemaker award

Peter Sisseck, the creator of cult Spanish wine Pingus, has been declared the first ever winner of the Winemakers’ Winemaker Award by the Institute of Masters of Wine and the drinks business.

The award, which was announced at a ceremony at ProWein on Monday, recognises outstanding achievements in the field of winemaking and is voted for by MWs and senior figures from across the international wine community.

Speaking to the drinks business after the award was announced, the Danish-born Sisseck said he was “extremely proud”.

Sisseck is a Bordeaux-trained oenologist and established Dominio de Pingus in Spain’s Ribera del Duero with its first vintage in 1995. More recently he bought a five-hectare parcel of Merlot vines close to Château Valandraud, called Rocheyron.

He said to db, “I’m currently very occupied with my new project in St-Emilion,” adding that “for me in a way it is a homecoming – I have come back to a place I like very much, and where basically everything I know about wine started.

“It is great to come back and hopefully I can also contribute something new and a fresh view of things,” he concluded.

Patrick Schmitt, 31.03.11