What factors do you consider when choosing a bottle of wine? The country and region? The grape varietal(s)? The producer? But what about the winemaker? Why haven’t we elevated winemakers to rockstar status, worshiped for their talent and skill, the same way we now revere celebrity chefs?

When stripped to the essential, the job of a winemaker seems straightforward: turn grapes into wine. But the steps between vine and wine are numerous. And if any step is not executed to perfection, the risk of the wine going ‘sideways’ multiplies. Good winemakers must possess deep skills and expertise in diverse fields from viticulture to chemistry to marketing. And that’s just to be good.

Great winemakers are also boundlessly creative. Like artists, they can imagine the potential of each plot of land and every grape that grows on it. Then, months later, after endless hours of toil in the vineyard, winery, lab, and cellar, they capture that visionary potential in a bottle.

Raúl Pérez is a Spanish winemaker considered a titan in his field. Called the mago de los vinos (wine wizard) by his peers, he now makes wine across Northern Spain. But he is doing some of his best work in his hometown in Bierzo where his family has been tending vines for over 300 years. His Saint-Jacques Ultreia is a Mencía-dominant blend. It is both a serious and playful wine, with aromas and flavours of juicy red fruits, subtle spices, and hints of violets.