Spanish ham masters since 1898
At Monte Nevado, we have been making Spanish ham since 1898. More than 125 years later, we remain a family-run company dedicated to a craft passed down through generations.
Our story is built around three things that continue to define every Monte Nevado ham: time, knowledge and craft.
We produce Serrano ham and Iberico ham in Spain, following each piece throughout its curing process and giving it the time it needs to develop its character. Because after more than a century making Spanish cured ham, we have learned something essential: great ham cannot be rushed.
A spanish ham tradition since 1898
Monte Nevado began in 1898 with Juan Olmos and Víctor Llorente, the first master ham artisans in our family.
Their knowledge was not learned from manuals. It came from working with the product, understanding the climate and observing how each ham evolved during its long curing process. That knowledge was passed from one generation to the next and became the foundation of Monte Nevado.
As the family business grew, we expanded our facilities and natural curing cellars and began bringing our Spanish ham beyond Spain. But one principle remained unchanged: the ham determines the time it needs, not the other way around.
Today, that philosophy guides the production of our Serrano ham and Iberico ham, including the 100% Iberico Bellota and 50% Iberico Cebo products available in the United States.
Every ham is selected one by one
No two hams are exactly alike. That is why we believe they should not all be treated as if they were.
At Monte Nevado, each ham is followed individually throughout the curing process. Our master ham artisans observe its evolution and use their knowledge and sensory judgment to determine when it has reached its best moment. Only then is it selected.
This individual selection is central to the Monte Nevado method. Rather than forcing every ham into a standardized timetable, we give each piece the time it needs.
It is a craft shaped by generations of experience, but it remains fundamentally human: observe, wait, evaluate and select.
Our curing cellars: Where time does its work
The character of Spanish cured ham develops gradually. Our curing cellars and drying facilities are therefore much more than places where ham is stored: they are an essential part of the process.
Temperature, air, time and the characteristics of each individual piece all influence its evolution. Throughout curing, our teams monitor the hams and make decisions based on how each one develops.
Monte Nevado has expanded and evolved its facilities over the generations, combining traditional curing knowledge with greater understanding of what happens inside a ham as it matures.
The goal, however, remains the same as it was more than a century ago: give every ham the conditions and time it needs to reach its best moment.
More than 125 years of learning
Tradition matters to us because of the knowledge it creates.
More than 125 years of making Spanish ham have allowed generations of our family and team to study how raw material, fat, climate, curing conditions and time influence the final product.
And we continue learning.
In recent years, Monte Nevado has developed more than 30 innovation projects focused on areas including the curing process, the behavior of individual pieces in the cellar and final product quality.
We believe preserving Spanish ham craftsmanship does not mean standing still. It means understanding it more deeply so we can protect what makes it special while continuing to improve.
Award-winning spanish ham
Our approach has also been recognized at the Spanish Food Awards (Premios Alimentos de España) organized by Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture.
Our hams have been recognized at the Alimentos de España Awards, organized by Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture. Our Serrano ham was named Best Serrano Ham in 2022, 2025 and 2026, and our 100% Iberico Bellota ham was named Best Iberico Bellota Ham in 2018 and co-winner in 2025.
For us, these awards are not the goal of our work. They are recognition of a way of making ham based on patience, careful selection, accumulated knowledge and respect for every piece.
Campus del Jamón: Sharing what we know
In 2022, we opened Campus del Jamón in Spain, a center created to share the knowledge accumulated through more than a century of making ham.
The Campus brings together training, tradition, sensory knowledge, innovation and R&D, creating a place where the craft can be studied, taught and developed for future generations.
Monte Nevado has also shared its knowledge through three books and numerous technical articles dedicated to different aspects of Spanish ham.
Campus del Jamón operates in Spain, but the knowledge developed and shared there reflects a broader commitment across Monte Nevado: to understand ham better and help preserve its culture.
A family business with its eyes on time
Today, as CEO, my responsibility is to safeguard this legacy and prepare it for future generations. Monte Nevado has grown and adapted to new times, but in essence it remains a family business.
A story made of people, considered decisions and trust in the value of time. Because everything we are today began in 1898. And it continues to grow with the same conviction.
BEST IBERIAN ACORN-FED HAM 2025 AND 2018
Winner of the Alimentos de España Award for Best Iberian Acorn-Fed Ham 2025 and 2018: Monte Nevado 100% Iberian Acorn-Fed Ham
BEST IBERIAN ACORN-FED HAM 2025 AND 2018
Winner of the Alimentos de España Award for Best Iberian Acorn-Fed Ham 2025 and 2018: Monte Nevado 100% Iberian Acorn-Fed Ham
SELECTING THE HAM AT THE POINT OF ORIGIN
a century and a quarter teach how to choose
Monte Nevado selects its dehesa oak forests by looking for sweet-tasting fruit and an abundance of grass and water.
Since 1898 we have known the best livestock and the best pastures for the free-range mast-feeding of the montanera period, protected from the cold winds so that our pure Iberico pigs can happily roam, eat and rest peacefully, surrounded by holm oaks, gall oaks, oaks and cork oaks.
We only cure the best hams: acorn-fed Iberico ham, cereal-fed (cebo) ham, free range fodder and cereal-fed (cebo de campo), and Serrano ham. And let’s not forget the Mangalica: bred in the Hungarian steppe where they graze during the summer and feed on corn and wheat in winter.
Time and air
Each of our cellars and dryers are located in natural environments. The windows let us to make the most of the pure air, just as our forefathers did, allowing for a slower and more natural drying process.
Longer ham curing process
Allowing the aroma and flavor of each piece to develop to its full potential, whether acorn-fed Iberico, fodder and cereal-fed, Serrano or Mangalica.
From the beginning, Monte Nevado opted for a slower and longer natural curing process, even when the quick-curing of low fat hams became popular during the 70s. The best quality can only be achieved with long curing processes that allow the taste and aroma to fully develop.
At Monte Nevado we work hard to ensure that each ham reaches its optimal curing time, no more and no less than needed..
There are no “anonymous” hams
We track each ham one by one.
125 years of experience have shown us how to bring out the best of each ham according to its own characteristics and the climatological conditions of each season: ventilation, temperatures, humidity…Our traceability system lets us know everything about each piece from its origin to the moment you receive it.
Our control system, tracking and monitoring each of our hams, has placed us among the top companies in the sector with international certification:
• 1986 authorized to export to the EU.
• 2006 authorized to export to the USA and Canada.
• 2007 IFS and BRC Certified, the strictest measures for quality management and food safety
Waiting for the perfect moment
Selecting the perfect moment for you to try it.
We only serve hams that have reached the peak of their aroma and flavor.
Our master ham artisans review and classify each piece one by one and are responsible for ensuring that each piece receives the appropriate maturation period. Certified experts such as perfumers or the best wine tasters have developed their heightened sense of smell to perform this specialized task.
Many years of experience are required before our experts are able to decide when a Monte Nevado ham has reached its perfect moment and is ready to be served.
MONTE NEVADO
Facilities
Each of our cellars and dryers are located in natural environments.
The windows let us to make the most of the pure air, just as our forefathers did, allowing for a slower and more natural drying process.
Our headquarters is located in Carbonero el Mayor, a municipality with a long ham tradition in the highlands of Segovia, a place that receives the winds from the peaks of the Guadarrama mountain range. These cellars have a holding capacity of 800,000 pieces.
La Rioja
These curing cellars are located in the heart of Sierra de Cameros, in La Rioja. It is an extraordinary location at more than 1,100 m altitude, perfect for our slower and longer natural curing process that take advantage of the climatic characteristics of the area.
Salamanca
8 km from Guijuelo, we have cellars for Iberian ham production in an area of mountains and pastures, with capacity for 500,000 pieces of Iberian ham.
Dehesa/Forest
