Born in Jumilla in April 1973.

Elena studied the first two years of economics before deciding to take charge of the family bodega and redirect her career. Now she is a qualified Technical Specialist in Oenology and Viticulture, and holds an MSc in Oenology, Viticulture and Wine Marketing and an MA in Business Management and Administration.

She has spent most of her life between the town of Jumilla and the Estrecho de Marín, where the family bodega, founded by her grandfather in 1948, is located. Her father took over the business from his father, and Elena took over the business from her father. She has inherited her forebears love and passion for the Monastrell grape, the distinctive essence of Jumilla, and their enthusiasm for making premium wines from this exceptional variety.

Elena considers herself lucky to be able to work in a profession she loves, especially as she gets to work directly with her family. She has been in the wine business for over twenty years.

She is also chair of the Casa de los Ardachos agricultural society, which is primarily dedicated to the cultivation of vines, almonds and olives, to which the Pacheco estate has dedicated over 200 hectares.

Elena is an enthusiastic, optimistic and resolute hard worker. She is the personification of her crops – eager to grow, yet aware of the importance of roots.

Emi Pacheco, together with Elena, are the third generation at the helm of the bodega. She is the only blonde, blue-eyed sibling out of the four sisters. Mother of four, three of her off-springs now work at Viña Elena and constitute the fourth generation.

She has played a role in the family business since she was small. Emi is a resolute hard worker and is not afraid to get her hands dirty doing whatever it takes in the bodega. So much so, in fact, that she has always preferred work to study and has been with Viña Elena since 1982.

Her fighting spirit and determination in raising her large family says a lot about her capacity to multitask: running to the kitchen to check on the roast between client and client is a good example. You can always count on Emi for everything: harvesting, attending to clients, wine tastings, making you laugh…or even brightening your day with a dance.

When you come to buy wine, you’ll always notice Emi. She’s the one filling containers, sweeping the floor, or, calculator at the ready, letting you know she’s hurrying to attend to you with an energetic call of ‘Coming!’ You’ll notice her warmth and kindness the moment you meet her, gifts she bestows on everyone who comes through the door, the result of the passion for the bodega she inherited from her father and grandfather.

Fernando is the eldest of Emi’s four children and currently runs the bodega’s Export Department.

He studied Business Management and Administration, and on his return from an Erasmus Exchange Programme in Manchester in the UK, destiny played its part, and his aunt Elena took him to Vinexpo in Bordeaux where he found his new passion.

Aware of his lack of knowledge as regards the wine sector, the first thing he did was to venture to New Zealand to help with the harvest. On his return, he decided to study international commerce given that his new passion was the perfect match for another of his passions: travelling the world selling the family wines – his new objective. On finishing his MA in International Commerce, in 2016 he began to represent Viña Elena in Prowein (Germany), Canada, the Netherlands, England, Scotland, etc.

As everything seemed to come easy to him and he liked challenges, he decided to pack his bags once again and start from scratch on a new adventure, this time in Australia! Armed with New World wines, he worked as a sommelier in a restaurant that served over 1,200 wines from around the world. Every time he opened a bottle it was like travelling all over again!

The experience prompted him to learn even more about the wine sector, so he went on to study a WSET 3 before returning to the bodega with renewed energy and the enthusiasm to continue to sell wines but also to learn more about vines, vineyard husbandry, viticulture, and, above all, oenology.

Who knows, maybe one day we’ll be tasting one of his own wines.

María belongs to the fourth generation of the Pacheco Family and is in charge of the Wine Tourism Department.

Although she studied teaching and not about the wine sector, once she finished studying, she travelled abroad to learn and improve her level of English, a very important aspect of her current job.

On her return in 2018, she offered to help in the family business while she continued to study for state exams to join the civil service. However, something magical happened when she discovered the world of the bodega and the passion that surrounds wine tourism.

She is an excellent narrator of the family history, which she is also part of, and has strong ties that connect her to the passion and hard work of her grandfather Paco, her mother Emi and her aunt Elena. She assumes her responsibility with pride and is motivated to contribute to the business through her own hard work and enthusiasm.

María always receives everyone with a smile and does her utmost to ensure visitors leave with a good feeling about their visit. She is our storyteller, although her least known aspect is that of all-rounder: a wine enthusiast – she never misses a tasting event – maître in La Casa de los Abuelos, the first to rise with secateurs in hand ready to harvest, crush grapes or collect samples. She organises events to the last detail, talks about the wines as if they were her offspring, and, above all, works in the team helping in whatever needs doing, and always with a smile.