Introducing The Golden Vines® Committee
The Golden Vines® are the work of a small but dedicated team who all share an incredible passion for the industry. With our host city changing each year, it’s vital to have the best and most knowledgeable ambassadors helping to guide us so we can do Madrid and its rich cultural heritage and vibrant food and drink legacy justice. We couldn’t do what we do without the help of our Committee, who with their knowledge, expertise and connections, come together each year to help us achieve something truly spectacular.
For 2024 we looked for the best the thriving Spanish scene has to offer - true bastions of the country’s wine industry, producers and trailblazers who have helped put its incredible wines on the map. We’re delighted to have been ably assisted by the following people as we bring the Golden Vines® to Madrid
Ferran Centelles
Ferran Centelles
Firstly, Ferran Centelles, an Ambassador for Jancis Robinson. A Spanish specialist, who was the sommelier at the world-renowned El Bulli for 13 years until its closure. He is chef Ferran Adrià's wine man, writing substantial books for the elBullifoundation and is extremely well known by the Spanish wine establishment as an educator. He has even dabbled in making wine himself. He holds the WSET Diploma and Advanced Level certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers and is a regular judge at international competitions, such as Decanter World Wine, where he serves as regional Co-Chair for Spain. Centelles has garnered countless accolades and awards in his impressive career, including Best Sommelier in Spain in 2006 (Ruinart), National Gastronomy Award in 2011, and WSET Best Alumni in 2020.
Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga
Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga
Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga was born in Madrid as the oldest and only son of four children between Vicente Cebrián-Sagarriga and Chus Suarez-Llanos, Counts of Creixell.
Growing up, Vicente split his time between Madrid and Galicia. He spent his summers at Pazo de Barrantes, an old country house owned by his family since the sixteenth century. These formative years spent in Galicia, combined with his family's ties to the region, developed a connection that would prove instrumental later in his life.
In 1986, Vicente moved to the Ygay Estate in La Rioja, where his father owned the Marqués de Murrieta winery. Upon completion of a double degree in economics and business law, he began working for the export departments at Marqués de Murrieta and Pazo de Barrantes. A constant traveler, his interests and perseverance lead him to develop an important role in the world of wine at a very early age.
The early and unexpected death of his father in 1996 incited Vicente to take charge and start a wine revolution both in Rioja and in Rías Baixas. That year, he became President of Marqués de Murrieta Estates & Wines. Since 1996, Vicente and his sister Cristina have completely updated the historic Marqués de Murrieta winery, and have developed an important export network crucial to the worldwide distribution of the family's wines. His bold vision, combined with a deep knowledge of the business and the oenological world, connect him with the past and present of the wineries he manages.
The complete renovation of Rioja's first winery, as Marqués de Murrieta is sometimes called, has completely raised the bar in terms of prestige, winemaking excellence, and youthful vision. Vicente has also managed to revive Galician winery Pazo de Barrantes with the same work ethic, becoming the benchmark for Albariño wines around the world.
Pablo Álvarez Mezquiriz
Pablo Álvarez Mezquiriz
Pablo Álvarez Mezquiriz is the CEO of Tempos Vega Sicilia. He is the owner, along with his siblings, of El Enebro, the equity company of the Álvarez family and is the current Chair of Europvin, which represents Europe's best wine portfolio.
He graduated in Law from the Centro de Estudios Universitarios de Madrid and holds a Diploma in Corporate Legal Advice from the Madrid Business Institute. Álvarez held several different posts at Eulen, where he was Director from 1980 to 2009. He was appointed as the General Manager of Bodegas Vega Sicilia in 1986 and CEO of that company in 1990, a post that he still holds to this day.
During the thirty years he has been at the helm of Vega Sicilia, Pablo Álvarez has transformed the winery and the estate is now renowned worldwide. He has notably improved quality, restored the vineyards for the future, set up four new wineries - namely Alión, Pintia, Oremus and Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild Vega Sicilia - and has driven the growth and international expansion of all their brands, putting Vega Sicilia firmly on the map as they move towards a bigger, brighter future.
Álvarez, a perfectionist who is never satisfied, is often heard capturing that in a nutshell: "The best is still to be done, the best vintage must be the next one".
Quim Vila
Quim Vila is the founder and CEO of Vila Viniteca, one of Barcelona’s premier wine shops, and has overseen its meteoric rise since it opened in 1993. A key player and much-loved figure in the Spanish wine scene, Vila has used his incredible commercial instinct to launch wines which are nowadays among the most renowned, notably those of Álvaro Palacios and Peter Sisseck, but also others made by dozens of producers based in numerous Spanish wine regions. He’s also celebrated for his efforts to introduce great international wines onto the Spanish market as well as selling en primeur since 2000.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has helped pave the way to making the 2024 Golden Vines® a success. We are a small but dedicated team, and the support of so many esteemed figures in the Spanish wine scene means so much to us. Their expertise and time has been invaluable. It continues to be a privilege to bring the great and good of the industry together, and we hope to see many new and familiar faces in October.
Tickets are available at £10,000pp via liquidicons.com