History and Values
OUR HISTORY
A revolution through the years
García-Carrión has its origins in Jumilla and, for more than 130 years and across five generations, has worked daily to seek excellence and make the quality of its products accessible to everyone.
Currently, the winery offers prestigious wines in 12 DOs and, under the Don Simón brand, which encompasses a wide range of products, each of them holding first or second place in the food market.
1890
García-Carrión Foundation, fourth generation
After marketing his wine in Murcia, Cartagena, Lorca and Almería, the great-grandfather of Mr. José García-Carrión built a new winery in Jumilla, already of a certain size for the time, due to the boom in wine exports to France, caused by the phylloxera that devastated the French vineyards. This winery is named after the year García-Carrión was founded.
1968
Mr. José García-Carrión, fourth generation
At just 19 years old, Mr. José began working in the family business, and his vocation was, and remains, marketing. He began building a network of distributors throughout Spain, and as demand increased, he decided to build a new winery near Jumilla, where he installed the first high-capacity bottling line. Five years later, his wife, Mrs. Fala Corujo, joined the business, taking over the Marketing and Advertising department of the family company. Through hard work and great faith and enthusiasm in the project, even daring to do things that others would consider crazy, they have achieved great success and made their work a constant revolution.
1980
Birth of Don Simón wine
In the early 1980s, with the establishment of large supermarkets in Spain, anticipating the upcoming changes in distribution channels and consumer habits, Don José revolutionized the market by selling wine in a practical, affordable, and lightweight non-returnable container: the carton. For many, this challenged tradition, but thanks to strong television advertising campaigns, consumers were able to understand that Don Simón was the best wine to enjoy every day, and a phrase became embedded in our lives and in our homes: "I'm going to eat with Don Simón." However, the true success of Don Simón wine was its quality, not its packaging.
1986
Diversification
In 1986, García-Carrión was already a national company, selling more than 70 million litres of wine a year. Recognising the risk of relying on a single product — and with wine consumption already declining — the company analysed international markets and found that juice consumption in Spain was very low, with growth expected in the following years. Juice was chosen as the entry point into the non-alcoholic drinks sector, under the name Don Simón — a brand then strongly associated with wine — but one that, with the right approach and a commitment to quality, could extend beyond both juice and wine to other beverages, such as nectars, grape must and sangria, which arrived in 1987. All under the Don Simón brand. Diversification has been one of the pillars underpinning our company’s growth.
1997
The Fifth Generation Joins
In 1997, Luciano García-Carrión joined the family business. As Vice President and a member of the fifth generation, Luciano — passionate about sales and international markets — pursues excellence by bringing creativity and constant innovation to all the wines and products of the family company. This is reflected in the large number of new launches García-Carrión introduces in markets each year. His charisma and ability to connect with clients around the world have made him a key figure within the business: today, sales outside Spain are one of García-Carrión’s fundamental pillars, with the company now present in more than 150 countries.
2007
Pata Negra – A Global Premium Wine Brand
One of the most groundbreaking moves in Spain’s wine world came with Pata Negra: creating a single brand that brought together eight different Protected Designations of Origin (D.O.): Rioja, Jumilla, Ribera del Duero, Toro, Cava, Valdepeñas, Rueda and La Mancha. Fifteen years on, Pata Negra is now a recognisable, award-winning brand worldwide.
In addition, the special Pata Negra Fauna Ibérica edition celebrates not only the products of our land, but also four of Spain’s iconic animals: the bull, representing D.O. Toro; the Iberian lynx, representing D.O. La Mancha; the wolf, representing D.O. Rioja; and the fox, representing D.O. Rueda.
2025
Today
A disruptive family business that blends tradition and modernity, continuing to uphold its commitment to sustainability, to our farmers, to quality, and to local, responsibly sourced produce. Today, García-Carrión wants to keep being by your side, bringing our winery and our orchards to your home — with wines, juices and a catalogue of products crafted with care for every kind of consumer. We continue to expand our brands internationally so they reach every corner of the planet, and we keep improving our production systems to be ever more innovative every day.