Félix Barbero: "A good wine should also be drunk in a boot".

His great-grandfather Teófilo Barbero was already working in the trade in 1865, at that time in Burgos. Almost a century later, Félix inherited his father's business: "Since I was a child, I liked the trade and I expanded it by creating a workshop with a shop and more varieties".

Originally the boots were made of fish, nowadays they are made of latex because they do not transmit aroma to the wine nor do they always have to be wet inside: "In 2002 I started to try out external leather materials, such as top quality calfskin (split leather), also goatskin and gazelle, to which I started to add embroidered designs".

After decades in which wine was no longer drunk in casks and business declined, Barbero turned his wineskins into a gift item, with more than fifty different varieties, also personalising them and printing photographs, logos or dates on them; making them perfect for weddings, births, communions and even for corporate gifts.

Even so, it remains an artisan family business, as their children also work in the workshop, but their production never exceeds 50 boots a day. That's why they hopelessly turn down orders such as the one they once received from Canada to make 30,000 boots. Their shop in Calle Sagasta in Logroño is included as a recommended place to visit in many guides on the Camino de Santiago: "Many pilgrims come to see what the wineskin is, we even give them to taste the wine with it and they like it, they see it as a curiosity and it is no wonder, we are the only wineskin makers in La Riojaand in Spain there are only seven".

Félix Barbero's products are also sold in other establishments in La Rioja such as hardware stores, gift shops, wine shops and at fairs, where he himself attends to customers to explain the benefits of drinking from a wineskin.

HOW TO HANDLE A WINESKIN?

He, of course, drinks his wine every day in his own wineskin, which he recommends keeping empty, clean and with a breath of air inside when not in use. He also gives us a tip: "If you want to keep the wine a little cooler, you can put the wineskin in the fridge or in the cooler if it's winter". When it's time to fill the cask, you have to rinse it with a little water, drain it well and add the wine. Barbero himself explains: "In the past, when the butts were made of fish, young vintage wines were used, because some of the flavour of the butt was transmitted to the wine and it was a shame to use a higher quality wine, but now that they are made of latex and do not transmit any flavour, the better the wine, the better". Félix Barbero's wineskins make it possible to share wine anywhere and enjoy it with friends and family in a different way, just as our ancestors did.

TIPS ON HOW TO DRINK FROM A BOOT LIKE AN EXPERT

1. The boot is held with the left hand at the top of the boot.

2. Uncover with the right hand

3. Then it is taken by the lower part or ass.

4. The opening is brought towards the mouth with arms bent.

5. As the wine falls, the arms are stretched out to make the stream longer.

6. To finish drinking, bring the boot to the mouth, relax the pressure of the hand and lower the boot vertically.

Félix Barbero: Calle Sagasta, 8 bajo. 26001, Logroño. Telephone: 941 248 633