Alvar de Dios was born into a family of winegrowers in the village of El Pego, situated on the southeastern edge of D.O. Toro, near the border with Portugal. But instead of being constrained by generations of winemaking convention, Alvar travelled to the Sierra de Gredos where he worked as cellar master at Bodega Marañones, alongside vinous pioneers Fernando Garcia and Dani Landi, now with their own Commando G Project.
Gradually he began acquiring vineyards of his own, his first 3 hectares inherited in 2008, ungrafted old vines planted in 1919 by his grandfather Aciano, mostly Tempranillo vines planted on sandy soils at 700m elevation. Alvar has farmed organically since taking over the vineyard, waiting until 2011 to make his first vintage, and in 2014 started following some biodynamic practices. In 2009 Alvar purchased Vagüera, a small plot of only half a hectare, near the village of El Maderal, just outside the Toro D.O. boundaries at 950m elevation. Abandoned since 2006, records show the vineyard was planted in 1921, on shallow rocky red clay soil over limestone, with a northerly aspect and sheltered by a cork oak forest.