Margarita Madrigal and Gonzalo Rodríguez haven't noticed any different looks in the village. "If we have noticed anything, it's joy. They are happy for us," she says. They live in Cabañas de Yepes, a region in the high plateau of Toledo that fits the definition of all villages. They catch up on gossip from the rest of the town first thing in the bar. Gonzalo, who is from there, finds that way of socializing amusing. Margarita doesn't care. "I mind my own business," she says. They gather with this supplement expectantly, it's the third interview they face for the same reason.
When One Battle After Another, the film by Paul Thomas Ardeson, had not yet arrived in Spain in November, they found out that one of their wines, Los conejos malditos, appeared. In a final scene of the movie that has swept the Golden Globes, DiCaprio is seen drinking a glass of wine, and he rests it on the table next to the bottle. One of their clients from the United States alerted them. They were amazed. "The first thing we're going to do is ask for money because they didn't ask for permission," they joke. It thrilled them. Margarita appeared on Castilla-La Mancha television. She also fits the stereotype of a family mother, filling in the silences.
"She has a lot of talent. She's very quick. And she has very good taste," says Gonzalo. She looks at him and laughs. They are still very much in love, their son watches them with some envy. "If it weren't for wine, I wouldn't exist. I owe my life to wine," he admits.
Margarita and Gonzalo are winemakers. They met while working. They feel somewhat embarrassed talking about their love story. They laugh as if they were back in that moment, looking at each other knowingly. "We met in Ribera del Duero. In the 80s. In a winery in Valduero." Gonzalo's family had a winery in the village, and he started training his palate from a very young age. He feels a certain nostalgia for that time. "There was always wine on the table."
They decided to create their own in 1999 when they founded Bodegas Más Que Vinos. They joined forces with a friend whom their son, Alonso, calls aunt. Alexandra Schmedes is German and from the beginning suggested the idea of exporting the wine. They produce 16 different wines, from sparkling to reds, like Los conejos Malditos, the best-selling of the winery. "Our main market is the United States. It's in many stores. And one of them is near where it was filmed, that's why we think they bought it," explains Margarita.
Their eyes, when watching a movie, always focus on the same thing: "If you notice, American or French wines always appear. That's why it caught our attention more that ours came out, which is Spanish." A wine that costs 9.50 euros. And it will continue to cost the same despite its fame. The essence of this red is what they have achieved: reaching everyone, being affordable, even in its taste. "Fresh, easy to drink, for a cold cuts meal, smooth." It has less alcohol content than the rest because they want young people to buy it.
Now people drink less. "This trend that exists...," says Margarita. They differentiate between wine and other beverages. "In the end, it's grapes. If you have a glass of wine with your meal, it's fine."
Margarita defends her guide to not getting drunk. "You have to eat. You can't drink on an empty stomach."
They have tasked their son Alonso with reaching out to younger people. Almost everything about Los conejos malditos is designed for them. It doesn't have a cork, to make it easier to open. The label's aesthetics are casual, and the bottle's theme is a misfortune they have embraced. "We have had a horrible plague for 18 years. The wild rabbits from the field are predators, they eat everything... they devastate everything. The vineyard is closer to them, so that's the first thing they go for. They are not cute, domestic rabbits. They are cursed rabbits."
Gonzalo has not been able to hunt them. "I have a friend who is a pro. I feel bad about it. I'm not cut out for that." Margarita absolves him with her gaze.