Dominio de Pingus

Dominio de Pingus is a Ribera del Duero estate founded by Peter Sisseck, a native of Denmark. The first vintage was 1995. Sisseck's uncle and mentor was Peter Vinding-Diers, a Danish winemaker. Sisseck studied agricultural science in Copenhagen, and he worked with his uncle and took courses at Bordeaux University. He was offered the opportunity to look after a newly planted vineyard in Ribera del Duero, the Hacienda Monasterio project, where he was hired as general manager. When his Spanish employer ran into difficulties, Sisseck decided to set up his own venture while staying on as a consultant. He hunted for ancient bush vines and found them in the village of La Horra, which he liked for its big concentration of old vines. The name Pingus was Sisseck's nickname as a child. Sisseck has recalled: "My uncle told me there was no room in one family for two winemakers called Peter, so that was that."

• Founder: Peter Sisseck, a native of Denmark; first vintage 1995
• Studied agricultural science in Copenhagen; worked with his uncle Peter Vinding-Diers and took courses at Bordeaux University
• Was offered the opportunity to look after the newly planted Hacienda Monasterio vineyard in Ribera del Duero and was hired as its general manager; celebrated 30 years with Hacienda Monasterio in 2020, though his involvement is much reduced
• Pingus was Sisseck's childhood nickname

The first Pingus, the 1995, was a 12-barrel production. Vinding-Diers advised Sisseck to sell it en primeur on the Bordeaux Place, and the Bordeaux négociant Jeffrey Davies sold that first vintage en primeur. Adam Brett-Smith of the UK merchant Corney & Barrow brought it to Robert Parker's attention. Sisseck sold the 1995 to the French after Spanish merchants rejected it. Frost in 1997 wiped out any prospect of a Pingus vintage that year. In late November 1997 a ship containing 75 cases of Pingus 1995, nearly a quarter of the total production and destined for the US market, sank in the deep Atlantic off the Azores. Demand for the wine in the US soared, and the bottle price more than doubled to some $450.

• 1995: first vintage, a 12-barrel production, sold en primeur on the Bordeaux Place through the négociant Jeffrey Davies
• Adam Brett-Smith of Corney & Barrow brought the 1995 to Robert Parker's attention
• 1997: frost wiped out any prospect of a Pingus vintage
• November 1997: 75 cases of Pingus 1995 bound for the US were lost when their ship sank off the Azores; the bottle price more than doubled to some $450

Pingus comes from a 4.2-hectare vineyard in La Horra, in the middle of Ribera del Duero, planted with bush vines in 1929 and effectively in two plots separated by 500 metres. The two parcels of old Tempranillo vines are San Cristóbal and Barrosso. Sisseck calls the site a "gravelly tongue" of land over a clay-limestone foundation in a "sea of silt". The vineyard has transitioned to biodynamics and has been divided into five sub-plots, reflecting the subtle gradations of sand and clay. Pingus was organic from the outset and has been biodynamic since 2000. Yields in 1995 were 12 hl/ha. With a warming climate, yields are now higher and the harvest is generally earlier; Sisseck dates the move to higher yields to the 2009 and 2010 vintages.

• 4.2 hectares of bush vines planted in 1929 in La Horra, in two plots 500 metres apart: San Cristóbal and Barrosso
• Clay-limestone foundation; five sub-plots reflecting gradations of sand and clay
• Organic from the outset; biodynamic since 2000
• Yields of 12 hl/ha in 1995; higher yields and generally earlier harvests in the warming climate

The winery, finished in 2004, is at Quintanilla de Onésimo, and the company Dominio de Pingus, S.L. has its registered address there. Pingus is vinified in open wooden fermenters. Sisseck set out to make very pure Tinta Fina from very old vines with natural yeast. Up until 2004 the policy was 100% new oak for Pingus. In 2006 Sisseck started experimenting with wood, and by 2012 no new wood was used for Pingus, which is aged in 12-month-old used barrels. The 2018 Pingus is 100% Tempranillo, aged for 22 to 24 months in second-use 225-litre and 500-litre French oak barrels, with a portion in 2,500-litre vats.

• Winery at Quintanilla de Onésimo (Valladolid), finished in 2004
• Pingus is vinified in open wooden fermenters
• 100% new oak up until 2004; experiments with wood from 2006; no new wood by 2012
• 2018 Pingus: 22 to 24 months in second-use 225-litre and 500-litre French oak barrels, with a portion in 2,500-litre vats

Flor de Pingus was first produced commercially in 1996 in response to Sisseck's American importer. The estate calls it "our village wine". Sisseck's own framing: "It's not a second wine, it's the 'other' wine." Until 2004 its grapes came from a vineyard rented from a neighbour of Vega Sicilia; since 2005 it has had its own four sites covering 30 hectares in La Horra, including a small proportion of Garnacha. Flor de Pingus today uses 25% new oak. Psi was established in 2006, with a first vintage in 2007, and is made in partnership with local growers as part of an effort to save old vines at risk of abandonment. By 2016 Psi production was spread across the wineries of seven different co-ops; its purpose-built winery now makes 350,000 bottles a year from 800 plots covering 200 hectares. Amelia is a special cuvée made from 500 centenarian vines; only one barrel is made, and all 300 bottles go to the US.

• Flor de Pingus: first commercial vintage 1996; Tinta Fina and 5% Garnacha; 30 hectares across four sites in La Horra since 2005; 50,000 bottles a year
• Psi: established 2006, first vintage 2007; 800 plots covering 200 hectares; 350,000 bottles a year
• Amelia: one barrel from 500 centenarian vines; 300 bottles, all for the US

Sisseck frames his approach as an evolving one: "I haven't changed anything; and I've changed everything. I don't stick to a recipe." At a 2022 Wine Spectator tasting of the 2018, 2016 and 2010 vintages, senior editor Alison Napjus observed: "All the wines show the Pingus hallmarks of freshness and length." Wine Spectator rated the 2010 Pingus 93 points; it carries 15 percent alcohol. Decanter rated the 2018 Pingus 98 points, with a drinking window of 2025 to 2045.

• 2018 Pingus: 100% Tempranillo; 14.5% alcohol
• 2010 Pingus: 15 percent alcohol

Primary source (producer's own site): https://www.pingus.es/. Secondary sources: Decanter (Maggie Rosen, 28 May 2015), https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/sisseck-of-pingus-owes-success-to-bordeaux-73981/; Decanter (Stephen Brook), https://www.decanter.com/features/interview-peter-sisseck-246804/; Decanter (Ines Salpico, 13 February 2025), https://www.decanter.com/premium/spanish-icons-dominio-de-pingus-pingus-550672/; Decanter (David Williams, 3 February 2021), https://www.decanter.com/premium/dominio-de-pingus-producer-profile-and-latest-releases-tasted-452541/; Wine Spectator (Kristen Bieler, 7 November 2022), https://www.winespectator.com/articles/2022-new-york-wine-experience-a-rare-pingus-trio. Last verified 2026-10-21. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.