Mateo
Iriarte

I'm from Navarra, I've lived outside Madrid for two decades, and I work in a sector that has nothing to do with wine. Aficionadovino is the other thing: what I do on weekends, what I learn at every tasting I attend, what I write up when I get back from a winery.

I'm not a credentialed enologist or a sommelier with a diploma on the wall. I've spent over fifteen years going to trade tastings, fairs and bodegas across Spain, and at some point I started taking serious notes. After all those trips, I've learned what feels worth sharing: wineries that treat you well, wines worth paying for, the cities that work as a long weekend, and the ones that need four days.

How I write Aficionadovino

If I recommend a winery, it's because I've been there. If I recommend a wine, it's because I've opened it, tasted it, and in many cases bought a second bottle. If something didn't impress me, I say so — tactfully, but I say it. I don't see the point of writing guides that are nothing but praise: someone spending eighty euros on a meal with wine pairings deserves to know what they're walking into.

I have a soft spot for small producers and grapes that aren't tempranillo. I'm interested in young winemakers who go back to their grandparents' village, in repurposed cooperatives, in old vines. But I also write about the big names — a well-made Rioja crianza is also real wine.

What you'll find here

Reportage from winery visits, guides to wine cities in Spain and Mexico, profiles of the major appellations, honest lists of what to try and where to eat. The idea is that when you're planning a wine trip, you can use this site the way you'd use a friend who's already been there.

If you have a recommendation, a winery you think I should cover, or a correction — the inbox is always open.