'Every Weekend We’re Booked': Meet Sonoma’s Winemaking Charrería Champions

'Every Weekend We’re Booked': Meet Sonoma’s Winemaking Charrería Champions

Charrería is the national sport of Mexico — and a family tradition for Sonoma winemakers Juan and Miriam Puentes. Loosely translated as “horsemanship,” charrería predates the American rodeo and traces its roots to the 1600s, when Spanish conquistadors introduced horses, cattle, and ranching culture to Mexico. “These were tricks and other things that they would use to handle cattle back in the haciendas,” Juan says of skills like roping, horse ha…