Izadi

Located in Rioja Alavesa, Izadi aims to produce wines that express the terruño of vineyards close to the Sierra de Cantabria solely from varieties indigenous to Rioja. They own 72 hectares and have access to another 108 hectares through long-term contracts. All are located within a triangle formed by Villabuena, Samaniego, and Ábalos – hence the triangle on their labels. Farming is sustainable and already organic, as they are in the process of achieving organic certification. The average age of their vineyards is greater than fifty years old. The soils are a mix of sandy clays and clay-limestone, and the climate is strongly influenced by the effects of the Atlantic Ocean – all the typical hallmarks of vineyards situated at the foot of the Sierra de Cantabria.

Stylistically, they adhere to a middle ground between tradition and modernism, valuing the former’s elegance to the latter’s fruit-forward qualities. The Antón Family founded Izadi in 1987 after years of managing vineyards in Villabuena de Alaba and restaurants in Vitoria. Most notably, the Antóns own and run the one-star Michelin Restaurant Zaldiaran in Vitoria. The transition from a purely culinary family to one that also embraced winemaking began in 1997 when Don Gonzalo Antón hired Mariano Garcia (the former technical director of Vega Sicilia and the current director of Aalto in Ribera del Duero) to assess their vineyards, complement them with setting up contracts with their neighbors and constructing a cellar to make their wines. Together with Roberto Vicente, the current winemaker for Izadi, the Antóns, and Mariano Garcia, they have created what we now recognize as the Izadi style: robust yet refined, modern, and elegant. Izadi’s wines can be enjoyed upon release and continue to evolve gracefully in bottle. Above all, these are, considering the family’s roots, satisfyingly gastronomic wines.