Mariano Garcia has been a legend in the world of wine since his teens. Son of an agricultural worker, when he was only 18 years old he happened to pass by the winemaker’s office one day when they needed another taster.

With no knowledge of wines, he was the only one to pick out the two identical wines in a blind tasting of 20. He was immediately put to work in the winery and trained at the School of Winemaking and Viticulture in Madrid. In 1968, at the age of 24 he was made winemaker at the estate, which was Bodegas Vega Sicilia, the most prestigious winery in Spain.

Today, Mariano García besides being responsible for his own two wineries, Mauro and San Román, is also founder, part owner and technical director of Aalto, his Ribera del Duero project, that he has managed to place,in only 12 years,among the best 100 wineries in the world. 

One of the best European winemakers, making wines that are unbound by appellation limits.