Humans of Wine: Stories around wine

At Vivanco we believe that wine is culture. We believe that wine is a civilising element that has served as a pillar for the development of customs and traditions throughout a journey that has lasted more than 8,000 years. It has also served as a source of inspiration for the different types of art that have been cultivated throughout this time. But beyond this leading role of wine in many aspects of the History and Culture of human beings with capital letters, it is also a source of inspiration for the different types of art that have been cultivated during all this time. We believe in wine as a small centre of gravity around which billions of small individual stories revolve.. We like to think of wine as a common place that is visited again and again throughout the personal journey of each one of us. And in order to give visibility to this more intimate dimension of the relationships that people establish with wine, in 2018 we created Humans Of Wine.

Through Humans Of Winewe want to share what wine represents for many people: for those who come to visit us at the Museum of Wine Culture and at the Wineryfor the workers who make the whole project Vivanco possible, for artists, artisans, writers, cooks... And for anyone who wants to share with us and with the rest of the world their story and their relationship with wine.

Humans Of Wine is a programme of short interviews in which we try to capture and transmit the essence of these personal stories. Accompanied by a portrait of their protagonists, with each publication we try to put a face and a voice to some of these stories, making them known through our social networks, mainly on Facebook e Instagram.

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#HumansOfWine Ian and Richard. London. "We read about it in the UK, because the museum is quite famous and well-known. It was written about by Hugh Johnson and other UK writers." Our names are Ian and Richard and we come from London. This is our first time here in La Rioja and in the north of Spain and we are enjoying it very much. We've been here for three days and we are going back now unfortunately. /First time in Vivanco?/: It's our first time in Vivanco but we read about it in the UK, because the museum is quite famous and well-known. It was written about by Hugh Johnson and other UK writers. So it's interesting that people have enjoyed that wine. /What are your plans in your visit to Vivanco?/I was interested in coming to Vivanco mostly because of its restaurant actually. We just booked here for lunch and now we are tasting the wines as well. /What Vivanco wines you like most?/Among the wines we are tasting, I really like the Vivanco Parcelas de Graciano and also the Vivanco Parcelas de Maturana Tinta. They are both very unusual, and different to what we have been tasting in La Rioja.

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Through Humans Of Wine we learned, for example, the story of Ian and Richard, two visitors who came from London in 2018 to get to know La Rioja and the Museum Vivanco of Wine Culture. They did so motivated by the references to Vivanco they found reading wine writers and journalists such as Hugh Johnson. Also because they were particularly interested in visiting our restaurant and in getting to know and tasting our wines. The wine Collection Vivanco Graciano Plots and Collection Vivanco Maturana Tinta Plots were two of their favourite wines among all those they tasted during their first trip to the north of Spain. A first approach to the wines of La Rioja and Vivanco that exceeded all their expectations.

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José. Winery Technician Vivanco. "My name is José and I am Chilean. I am in charge of the selection cellar at Vivanco. I have been working here since the last harvest, in September 2018." In my day to day, I take care of the selection wines, always delivering the best towards the wine and the winery / Is this your first job in a winery? / No. I already worked in Chile in a winery for 5 years. In the middle of 2018, I came to Spain with the idea of working at harvest time. / Why did you choose Vivanco? / I never thought I would work at Vivanco. I travelled to Spain in 2013 and Vivanco was the first winery I visited. Then the offer came out, I applied and it was quite exciting when they told me I was going to work here and I'm still excited to work at Vivanco. / Is the Wine Culture different in Chile and La Rioja? / Chile has a quite recent Wine Culture, compared to La Rioja. In Chile it is quite similar and I have come to a place where they also take a lot of care in wine making. / What is your favourite wine Vivanco / I really like Graciano, because when you taste it and compare it with others, you can notice a lot of difference. It is a wine that is also difficult to make, you have to be very careful. I really like the intense colour it has, it is very harmonious. / What do you enjoy most about your job? / Making the wine from the moment the grapes arrive until it is bottled. Seeing the whole winemaking process. / What is your favourite place inside Vivanco? / The inside of a vat, to see how it goes from empty to full of wine and the other way round too. Seeing a wooden vat from the inside is something that very few people get to see. / How would you explain to someone that it is interesting to see this part of the cellars? / This is where the grapes are turned into wine. The grapes come to us and we give the people the wine that they take to the table. This is where it all comes together. / What would you highlight about Vivanco from the winery's point of view? / The care we take in everything: in the tanks, in the barrels, in the wine and in the tourists. We have a lot of respect for the visitors who come and we try to give them the best for their visit.

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José, a technician at Bodegas Vivanco, has been another of the protagonists of the project. Humans Of Wine during this second year of the project. José told us how he came in 2013 to Vivanco as a visitor, to later become part of the winery's staff from the 2018 harvest. His experience working in a winery for 5 years in his native Chile was very useful for him to get the job. An experience that also allows him to draw similarities between the way of living the Wine Culture there in Chile and the way we live it here in La Rioja. José also talked to us about how exciting it is to be able to get to know first-hand the whole process of winemaking. the process of transforming grapes into wineThe process, the most fundamental part of which is concentrated in his favourite place at Vivanco: the inside of the wooden vats.

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Violeta, Pablo and babies Cecilia and Miriam: "I am very struck by the huge collections they have, I wonder where these items have come from". Our names are Violeta and Pablo, and the babies Cecilia and Miriam. We come from Tudela and Tauste. We are at Vivanco on a family trip with our aunt and uncle who have come from Israel. We have come because we wanted to visit this museum / What is your impression of the museum? / Very good. We think it is very well organised, very entertaining and very interesting. We were struck by the amount of antique and traditional objects. We didn't imagine that the collection would be so extensive, it's much more than we expected. For example, this room we are in, with all these works of art, or the collection of old bottles in room 2. (Violeta): I haven't had wine for a long time because of breastfeeding, but I like it a lot. We always drink wine. (Pablo): In Tudela we have Murchante next door, where they also produce a lot of wine. I have been abroad for many years and it makes me laugh when I see Rioja or local wines. I have even found some from Murchante in France or Germany. (Violeta): For me it is the memory of the fiestas. Of getting wine all over your clothes, the smell of wine in the street... / What would you highlight from Vivanco/ (Violeta): I am very struck by the huge collections they have, I think they are amazing. I wonder where these items have come from. (Pablo): The corkscrew collection, for example. #humansofwine #vivanco #bodega #wine #wine #winelover #enology #tourism #travel #trip #instawine #vinotinto #vinoblanco #wines #winetasting #winery #winestagram #winecountry #wineoclock #winebar #drink #larioja #lariojaapetece #naturaleza #nature #art

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Pablo and Violeta, siblings, represent another of the many profiles of the friends who come to visit us in La Rioja. They came with Cecilia and Miriam, Violeta's daughters, and with some aunts and uncles of theirs who live in Israel. Vivanco has been a great experience for them. a destination for a family reunion with wine as an excuse. What most struck them during their visit was the extent and depth of the different collections in the museum: works of art, archaeological artefacts, archaeological pieces, and the many different types of objects in the museum. Museum Vivanco of Wine CultureWhere did all this come from, they asked themselves, "Where did all this come from?

Stories like Ian and Richard's, like José's or Pablo and Violeta's are the raison d'être of Humans Of Wine. Personal stories that tell us about the different ways in which people live the Wine Culture in their daily lives. Memories, experiences and anecdotes in which all of them are can feel reflected in and that make wine so special.

If you want to know more stories like these or discover the relationship between the daily work of a baker, a cabinetmaker or a tavern keeper and the world of wine, keep an eye on our social networks. Humans Of Wine on our social networks.