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Month: February 2026

Wine of the Week

Uva de Vida at Bendito

Published 27. February 2026 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Whenever I am in the center of Madrid I try to find time for a visit to Bar Bendito in the Mercado de San Fernando. This time I was served three wines and some tasty bites.

One of the wines was Biográfico Graciano y Tempranillo. Biográfico is produced by Uva de Vida, the biodynamic project of Carmen López Delgado and Luis Ruiz in Santa Olalla, Toledo, in the countryside south of Madrid. The vineyards lie on sandy and clay-limestone soils, where organic farming is not a marketing slogan but a working philosophy. Everything here is cultivated biodynamically, with a strong commitment to soil life and ecological balance.


The wine blends two classic Spanish varieties: Tempranillo and graciano. Tempranillo provides the structure and dark fruit, while graciano contributes freshness, aromatic lift and a slightly wild edge that keeps the wine vibrant.
Fermentation takes place with native yeasts, followed by ageing in a mix of concrete and neutral vessels that preserve the fruit rather than marking the wine with oak. The result is a wine that feels both energetic and grounded.

Biográfico Graciano y Tempranillo 2022 (Uva de Vida)

Dark cherry colour. The aroma also shows dark cherries, woth crushed herbs and a hint of spice. On the palate it is supple but precise, with fine tannins and a lively acidity that carries the fruit through to a long, savoury finish.

Price: Low

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Wine of the Week

Homemade wine at Gota

Published 20. February 2026 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen


Last night at Gota, the tiny bar in Madrid’s Chueca district, I was poured a glass of Bailando en el Filo 2024 by Victoria Sánchez, one half of the duo behind Pequeños y Salvajes. On an earlier visit it was Nahuel Ibarra who stood behind the bar. It seems only fitting that their wine appears in a place that shares their spirit: small, lively and a little wild.


The wine comes from El Tiemblo in the Sierra de Gredos, a landscape of old vines and granite soils that has become one of the most exciting sources of Garnacha in central Spain. It’s made by carbonic maceration.


Bailando en el Filo — “dancing on the edge” — is an apt name. The wine has that same sense of balance and risk. There is something refreshingly unforced about it, almost as if the wine were being made in the moment. It feels improvised, like music played without a written score — yet guided by instinct and intuition.

Bailando en el Filo 2024 (Pequeños y Salvajes)

Light ruby red. Bright red berries, wild herbs and a faint earthy note rise from the glass. The palate is lively and finely textured, with freshness and lightness carrying the wine effortlessly forward. Serious glou-glou.

Price: Low

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Wine of the Week

Structured and saline single plot albariño

Published 13. February 2026 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Zárate is one of Rías Baixas’ historic estates, with records dating back to the 18th century. Today the project is guided by Eulogio Pomares, whose work in Val do Salnés has helped redefine albariño as a serious, terroir-driven wine capable of ageing with grace.

The fruit for Tras da Viña comes from a single vineyard planted in 1970 on decomposed granite soils typical of the Salnés Valley. The Atlantic influence is unmistakable here: humidity, cooling breezes and slow ripening, giving tension and aromatic precision.

The grapes are hand-harvested, fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged for an extended period on fine lees without bâtonnage. The long élevage builds texture and depth while preserving the saline backbone that defines the site.

Tras da Viña 2021 (Zárate)

Pale golden, brilliant. The nose is refined and mineral, with white blossom, lemon peel and a faint herbal edge. On the palate it is taut, layered, with citrus, green apple and crushed stone. It finishes long and saline. Albariño with structure and charm.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Generous Rioja garnacha

Published 6. February 2026 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Víctor Ausejo is based in the village of Alberite, where the river Irégua flows past before joining the Ebro near Logroño. We’re in a transitional zone towards lower Rioja, where garnacha is in fact a key grape, well adapted to heat, drought and alluvial soils.

Everything here is farmed organically, and all work is carried out by hand.

The Los Pepones vineyard lies in the village of Sojuela, at 650 metres above sea level on the foothills of the Moncalvillo mountains. Planted in 1951, it measures just 0.36 hectares. The soils are sandy clay, and the vines are trained as free-standing en vaso, typical of old Spanish vineyards.

The grapes are destemmed and cold-macerated for three days before spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel. The wine is then aged in used French and Hungarian barrels and bottled unfiltered.


Garnacha Tinta 2021 (Víctor Ausejo Viticultor)

Fairly deep red with a bluish rim. Generous, sweet-toned fruit (the alcohol kept just in check), red and dark berries (raspberry, blackberry), flowers, spice and aniseed. Plenty of tannin without aggression, an earthy touch, refreshing acidity, good concentration and length.

Price: High

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