It is not difficult to relate the city of Valladolid to the tradition of Wine making, whether it is the surrounding areas or the capital itself.

Following the reconquest in the XI century and the feudal lords and their armies, the clergy arrived and established their monasteries. The role of the religious orders was very important in the repopulation and the culture of the vineyards: it should not be forgotten that wine is necessary for the rites of the church.

In Valladolid, there are many monasteries and they are among the few historical vestiges that are still extant in the city. They held the privilege of possessing their own wineries and they were not subject to the high tariffs imposed on wines entering the city, which was demanded of the other wine makers. The largest and most important wineries of the age were those of the monasteries of St. Benedict, St. Paul and the Collegiate of the Holy Cross.

 However, wine production was not only the purview of the religious orders: wine consumption among laymen was common, since in an era in which people could not afford to buy much meat due to the high cost, wine provided much-needed calories for their diet.

Around 1596, when Valladolid acquired the rank of city, commerce was its main economic activity, and this commercial activity as well as production was regulated by guilds. At the end of the XVIII century, the city had 44 minor guilds and 5 major ones. These guilds regulated all the productive and social aspects of each profession, while attempting to maintain their monopoly. Among these guilds, the one charged with all the matters related to wine was the “Herederos de Viñas” guild.

In addition, there were other buildings related to wine and gastronomy, such as the wine Skin maker, who was in charge of making large wine skins in which the wine was stored, or the inns, restaurants and boarding houses that provided lodging, food, and drink to travelers.

The guilds attempted to centralize their different activities by neighborhoods, and this custom is still evident in the names of some of the streets of the city that even today are named after the guild that was located there. In other cases, the tradition of the profession remains today, as in the different areas where inns and taverns are located.