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Discovering Eduardo García, Technical Director of Bodegas Mauro

02/10/2024 Interviews

Behind every great wine, there is always a story, and that of Eduardo García, technical director and winemaker at Bodegas Mauro, is one that invites us to look beyond the label. Born and raised among barrels and vineyards, Eduardo carries in his blood the legacy of his grandfather, Mauro, and his father, Mariano García, one of the most respected and admired Spanish winemakers in the wine world.

Humble and generous, Eduardo has been forging his own path, living oenology not just as a profession but as a true passion inherited and cultivated over the years.

Join us in discovering more about Eduardo García, from his beginnings at Mauro and San Román alongside his father, to his current projects crafting wines with personality that demonstrate how youth, experience, and tradition can go hand in hand.

- Growing up in a family so deeply rooted in viticulture must have been a unique experience. Your grandfather, Mauro, worked at the renowned Vega Sicilia winery, followed by Mariano, your father. Do you have any childhood anecdotes about your first contact with wine and the vineyard that you remember with special fondness and would like to share with us?

Of course! I remember my father taking me to the winery, and I would be in the office or laboratory with him, walking among the barrels. When I was a bit older, during summer vacations, I would go to the winery with a friend, and we would do whatever my father asked us to: labeling, filling... and harvesting. I especially remember the lunches with my cousins.

My contact with the vineyard came later, around 1994-1995, with the old vineyard in the Traspinedo plot that my father bought at that time and with which Mauro VS is made.

- And what made you decide to follow the family wine path? Did you always know, or how did you receive "the call of the wine"?

No, I wasn't sure at all; in fact, I didn't know what to study. I was into humanities, and various professions crossed my mind: from police officer to soldier, psychologist... I really wanted to travel, see the world, and my father supported and encouraged me to study this to meet people, see other places...

And so it was: I started studying in Requena, then moved to Bordeaux... Destiny.

- During your training as a winemaker, you worked at great wineries in Burgundy, Bordeaux, and California. Did you always know you would return to Spain to be part of the family project, or did you have other plans at the time?

I didn't know what I was going to do, but if I had settled abroad, it would have been in France. In fact, I was living there when, during a summer vacation in Spain, on a trip to Galicia with my father, he mentioned that the manager of San Román had left and asked me to stay for a while. So I did, I stayed at San Román. Then other projects in Castilla y León emerged: Ribera and Bierzo; taking charge of the viticulture at Mauro... all of this made me stay. It was the 2001 harvest that hooked me, and I stayed.

It's curious because Mariano advised me to travel, to learn... but he also asked me to stay. In any case, it was all very smooth, without pressure.

- You started at Bodegas San Román, your family project in the D.O. Toro (Castilla y León, Spain). How has your wine journey been since then?

While at San Román in 2001 as technical director, I started three personal projects, as well as developing the viticulture part at Mauro and the oenological part with my father at the winery. It was five years of learning and training until 2006 when I took the reins and formed my own team.

From there, other 100% family projects emerged, such as Garmón in Ribera del Duero in 2014; Baynos in Rioja Alavesa in 2020, and Valeyo in El Bierzo in 2021.

- Your father, Mariano García, is a true icon in the wine world. You have said that, for you, he is the best advisor in the world. Working side by side with your father must have its challenges and rewards. How would you describe your professional relationship? Do you influence each other? Do you feel that your approach and winemaking style differ significantly from your father's, or do you share a similar vision of how wine should be made?

We get along very well and have a similar vision, inspiring each other. In fact, we understand each other so well that sometimes we do it without speaking; we connect well. If we do talk, we like to discuss in the French sense, sharing ideas, not confronting.

Where we might find differences is in the approach, I am perhaps more organized because I trust a lot in the vineyard work and the raw material I have, respecting a style, I consider myself flexible and adaptive. Mariano, starting from the same respect for the vineyard, is more instinctive.

We both share a taste for wines with personality, with soul, that reflect their origin.

- You have said that you and your brother Alberto are not just the next generation but work in tandem with your father, Mariano, on all family projects. Do you think Garmón is one of the most special, as it symbolizes the union of your two surnames: García and Montaña? What can you tell us about this wine?

Indeed. We coexist as two generations and nourish each other in all directions. A clear example is Garmón Continental, where Mariano's wisdom and experience in Ribera converge with Alberto's clarity and my experience and training.

Garmón is a wine where we separate municipalities, for us a reference in the Ribera del Duero, and it very well manifests the essence of the old vineyard in various small plots and all the potential of our younger vines. We could define it as a fine, sophisticated, structured, complex wine...

It perfectly synthesizes what the García family in Ribera del Duero is, especially Mariano, who is living history.

- Many say that, besides your talent as a winemaker, you have brought an extraordinary business vision to the family projects, allowing considerable expansion and improvement in processes, vineyards, and wine production. It was your initiative to produce the firm's first white wine, Mauro Godello. Could you tell us more about this wine and the most recent wines produced under the Bodegas Mauro umbrella in different denominations of origin?

Yes, we started producing Mauro Godello in 2013. Godello is a very versatile and challenging variety viticulturally because it is delicate to sun exposure, with contained yield, but very balanced and of great finesse, with acidity, fat in the mouth...; I am very pleased with its evolution.

Due to the family's connection with El Bierzo, there was a need to make mencía, a variety that appears fragile but has everything: finesse, freshness, seduction... Moreover, we are talking about an area with a lot of magic and personality that, fortunately, we have had the opportunity to know for many years.

As for La Rioja, we are talking about a historic area. We have always been in love with the great classics and new productions, so it is an emotional and business bet.

- Among all the wines you produce, is there one with which you feel most identified and why?

They say wines are like children; it's hard to say which one you love more, and it's true.

In any case, there are two projects I would highlight for different reasons. One, San Román, for the generosity of nature, the soil... It has an impressive personality and viticultural quality, as well as a very genuine earthy side.

The other, Garmón, for being a more personal wine, a synthesis, the result of what I have learned from my father and throughout my life.

- What are the next challenges and objectives you have set for Bodegas Mauro? Is there any trend in viticulture or oenology that you think will be key in the coming years?

The main objective would be to consolidate what we have, delve into the depth and purity of our wines and enjoy it.

Viticulturally, we are very involved in biodynamics, awaiting vineyard certification.

We understand that with climate change, we must be dynamic by introducing new varieties. For example, in El Bierzo, besides mencía and godello, we work with garnacha tintorera, merenzao, estaladiña...; in Mauro with graciano or cabernet sauvignon...; in Toro with malvasía or garnacha...

Additionally, we often include a small contribution of white grapes in reds to give them more freshness.

- You grew up in a house where Mauro and Vega Sicilia were drunk. Having contact with great wines and a role model like your father must have made it easier for you to approach good wine from a young age. What do you think happens with today's youth? Do you have any suggestions to bring wine culture closer to the younger population in an intuitive and accessible way?

From my point of view, I think if today's youth do not approach wine, it is due to economic and cultural factors; in many cases, they associate it with an elitist, expensive pleasure more suited to older people with technical knowledge. We need to break the myth that if you don't "know" about wine, you can't drink it; if you don't know the wine language, you can't talk about it. The goal should be to make it accessible to everyone.

- We know the wine world can be absorbing, but what do you do in your free time to unwind? Do you have any hobbies outside of wine?

I consider myself fortunate in this regard, as I am very fond of gastronomy, enjoying a good meal with friends and family, and my work allows me to enjoy it often.

Besides that, having four small children, I don't have much free time, but I do enjoy cinema, walking—whether through the vineyards or the city—and spending time with them.

- And finally, could you share with us the last wine you tried that was a true revelation?

It's hard to answer because I am in love with wines; I drink many wines from many regions and have revelations daily, I fall in love often.

I admit that this summer, there have been several wines that I particularly liked: on one hand, Chave Ermitage 2020; on the other, a Brunello di Montalcino, Stella di Campalto Bosco 2018, with a Vega Sicilia style. I really like traditional Italian wines, perhaps because they remind me of my father; and finally, a wine by Gregory Pérez that I love, the Mengoba, Gran Cuvée 2016 aged for 4 years in 500-litre barrels.