Pilar Esteve:
from the village to the grower's wine of Fontanars dels Alforins

Roots: a land of small projects

Pilar Esteve comes from the Fontanars dels Alforins area, in the Clariano sub-zone of the DO Valencia. According to Las Provincias, half a century ago the village had dozens of family wineries; today production is concentrated in small, high-quality projects.

She says she cannot remember how her relationship with wine began: both she and her partner come from winegrowing families, and the vineyard has always been part of their lives.

Learning the trade: from work placements to commercial director

At 16 she was already doing work placements in local wineries, mostly in sales and administration: “in small projects, you always do a bit of everything”, she recalls. She then studied International Trade and, rather than leave, came back to the village to apply what she had learned to winegrowing.

For about 25 years she combined the family hospitality business with commercial management in wineries. In 2015, a 5barricas feature described her as a vineyard owner and sommelier with more than ten years in local wineries as commercial director.

Her partners brought the rest of the craft. José Ramón Domènech, a vineyard owner and grower, had more than 15 years as a winemaker; Joan B. Llobell, an agronomist, had been vineyard manager and technical director in local wineries for ten years (2015 data).

2011: the garage and the right moment

Circumstances pushed the decision. Pilar remembers a conversation over a glass of wine: the owner of José Ramón's winery had died, one of hers had closed, and they thought it was time to do something with her family's vines.

They began making wine in the garage of their home — moving the car out onto the street, as 5barricas reported in 2015. That first vintage produced 1,200 bottles of Sentada Sobre la Bestia. Encouraged by its reception, in the second year they doubled production and launched Beberás de la Copa de Tu Hermana, a white aged on its lees.

The names came out of long conversations: biblical quotations taken out of context — Revelation 17, Ezekiel 23, Revelation 14 — with nods to cinema, from Álex de la Iglesia to Tarantino and Anthony Hopkins. And the winery's name alludes to phylloxera, the pest that changed wine and which, for them, marked a before and after in their lives.

José Ramón Domènech: the grower who found Arco

José Ramón Domènech is her husband and partner in the project. According to their distributor, AWINES, he and Pilar are growers and children of growers from Fontanars, and worked for more than 20 years in other wineries in the area before starting their own.

His passion for the vineyard explains the recovery of varieties. In 2013 he came across Arco — which, he told Spanish Wine Lover, the local cooperative's list classed as not recommended — and, according to AWINES, he saved the “Tío Sinto” plot from being grubbed up. In 2014 they recovered Ullet de Perdiu and in 2016 Valencí, from which they made their first orange wine, produced — again according to AWINES — the way José Ramón's father used to make it.

Pilar insists they were not chasing rare varieties for fashion: these grapes, she says, “crossed our path”. The third partner, Joan Llobell, an agronomist, completes the team, and winemaking decisions are taken by the three of them together.

Today: vineyards, wines and reach

Fil·loxera & Cía farms a little over 17 hectares, almost all bush-trained: most are vineyards owned by Pilar and José Ramón plus some rented plots, nearly all in Fontanars dels Alforins and a few of Pilar's in Villena. The oldest vines are over 60 years old (Spanish Wine Lover).

From a few thousand bottles they have grown to around 40,000 a year, distributed in Spain and abroad. The winery is still in the couple's home and the bottled wine is stored in a rented warehouse. Drought has forced them to cut volumes in some vintages.

The range revolves around Sentada Sobre la Bestia (Monastrell-based), Beberás de la Copa de Tu Hermana (white), El Cordero y las Vírgenes and La Mujer Caballo, with Valencí (orange), Arco and Ullet de Perdiu. Their distributor lists Wine Advocate scores of 91 to 93 points, for example 92 for Beberás de la Copa de Tu Hermana 2023 and 91 for Sentada Sobre la Bestia 2020. Their Instagram account, @filoxeraycia.pilaresteve, has more than 3,500 followers.

Recognition and public voice

In 2026 Pilar Esteve received, alongside Juan Valero (Arroz Tartana), Las Provincias' Raíz del Producto award, at the fifth Historias con Delantal awards, whose motto was “The future is in the root”. The newspaper honoured them as producers committed to the Valencian territory; according to Arroz Tartana, the ceremony took place in early June.

On 15 October 2026 she took part, at the Palau d'Otos in Fontanars, in the round table “Women: economy, business and entrepreneurship”, part of the sixth edition of the Vall d'Albaida regional project Lidereses Rurals. The town council highlighted her presence as co-owner of the winery and her defence of agricultural and native heritage: the aim, she summed up, was to put local varieties into a bottle.

One of her most repeated messages is a fair price: paying it, she argues, protects the survival of those who farm and prevents land abandonment. And about the future she is cautious: for now, her wish is for Fil·loxera & Cía to reach more and more people.

Why a project like this matters

Fil·loxera & Cía is what is usually called a garage or grower's wine: own vineyards, small plots, decisions taken by those who farm and make the wine, and a winery that literally starts at home. That scale explains almost everything else: varieties recovered out of conviction rather than fashion, wines with a name of their own and a direct relationship with the land.

Pilar's career sums up something we look for at Terroir Radical: someone who knows the trade from the inside — sales, the dining room, the vineyard — and chooses to work at a human scale with what is close at hand. You can see their wines on the producer page and the context of the area in Terres dels Alforins.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Pilar Esteve?

A winegrower and sommelier from Fontanars dels Alforins (Valencia) and, in 2011, co-founder of Fil·loxera & Cía with José Ramón Domènech and Joan Llobell.

What award has she received?

Las Provincias' Raíz del Producto award, at the fifth Historias con Delantal awards (2026), shared with Juan Valero of Arroz Tartana.

Where are Fil·loxera & Cía's vineyards?

Mainly in Fontanars dels Alforins (DO Valencia, Clariano sub-zone), with a few plots in Villena. In total they cover a little over 17 hectares, almost all bush-trained.

Is it a garage wine?

In origin, yes: the winery began in 2011 in the garage of their home and is still at the couple's house. Today it produces around 40,000 bottles a year.

Sources (consulted on 2 November 2026)

1. Las Provincias — Arroz Tartana y Fil·loxera & Cia, premios a la raíz del producto (27-5-2026) — Pilar's account, career, award and 40,000 bottles.
2. Las Provincias — Un día de verano junto a… Pilar Esteve (31-7-2026) — profile, career and daily life.
3. Ayuntamiento de Fontanars dels Alforins — Pilar Esteve en «Lidereses Rurals 2026» (16-10-2026) — the round table of 15 October 2026.
4. 5barricas (Valencia Plaza) — El coche en la calle y el garaje para hacer vino (31-1-2015) — 2015 feature on the garage and the three partners' profiles.
5. Spanish Wine Lover — Bodega Fil.loxera & Cía. — vineyards, hectares, varieties and production.
6. AWINES Spain — Fil.Loxera y Cía. — recovered varieties, dates and the distributor's scores.
7. Instagram — @filoxeraycia.pilaresteve — winery profile.