Master Winemaker 100: Jesús Mendoza
Jesús Mendoza, head oenologist and technical director at Bodegas Remírez de Ganuza features in this year’s Master Winemaker 100 guide. He tells db about bottling terroir, dreams of Australia and the wine that is “an act of affection”.
Jesús Mendoza joined the winemaking team at Bodegas Remírez de Ganuza in 1994. Here, at the centre of the small town of Samaniego, in the province of Álava, he dedicates himself to the production of contemporary Rioja wines. The company, which was established in 1989, has 80 hectares of its own vineyards, spread across 240 plots in prime locations around the foothills of the Sierra Cantabria. Mendoza has held his current leading role of head oenologist and technical director here since 2001.
A wise person once told me: “Patience.”
A great wine should be emotional art when you drink it.
A great winemaker should bottle the terroir – his landscape.
Perfection does not exist.
The thing I’d most like to change about the wine world is to let the wines speak for themselves and to leave egos aside.
I wish I could tell the consumer who drinks my wine to enjoy it. There’s a lot of love and effort inside that bottle.
The last time I asked a sommelier for advice… Hmm, that’s a habit I should pick up again.
If I couldn’t be a winemaker, I would be an oenologist. I can’t imagine being anything else.
I wish our vineyards could last another 100 years.
My next ambition is to focus on the new wines that are coming soon. They are the result of many years of work and effort that are finally hitting the market, and the feedback has been incredible.
If I won the lottery, I would travel much more. I love travelling to places with interesting food – and if there’s good wine, even better. My first destination would be Australia: I’d love to go there.
If there were more hours in the day, I would take advantage of this time to be with my friends and family.
When it’s all going wrong, it’s vital to be positive in order to reverse the situation.
My desert island wine would be María Remírez de Ganuza Reserva 2019. María is a wine that I make with a very special feeling. Besides being the best selection of barrels from the winery, for me it is a wine that transcends the product itself; it is an idea, a tribute, an act of affection.
Jesús Mendoza’s Master medals
Remírez de Ganuza Reserva 2010 & Remírez de Ganuza Gran Reserva 2012, The Rioja Masters 2025
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