Not far from Madrid is Sigüenza, a hill-town topped with a fairytale castle. In this ancient village, Jesús Blasco works with his brother and son to cut and stitch bota wineskins by hand, as they have been made for thousands of years. His small workshop is not much different than that of his father and grandfather, both of whom practiced this ancient trade.
Jesús greeted us at his door and proudly showed us the painstaking process of cutting a goat hide, stitching it together, then sealing it with pine pitch to make it waterproof. Jesús and his son are confident in their skills and are innovating to help preserve this craft for generations to come.
Without artisans like Jesús, this tradition could fade away, overtaken by a flood of cheap low-quality imports. We are thankful that he and his family are preserving and promoting this ancient craft.
