Gonzalo Celayeta
Spain
Gonzalo's Wines
- Spain
- 1Â wine
- 1Â style
Say hello to Gonzalo Celayeta, the Garnacha God of Navarra
- We got a tip off from our man on the inside Carlos Rodriguez, that a mate of his was making unbelievable wines up north that we could get for a steal.
- Gonzalo is a consultant who travels the region helping others make their wines taste amazing. But his real passion is making his own from a grape he’s totally obsessed with - Garnacha.
- Gonzalo is a walking Garnacha encyclopaedia. He knows where all the best parcels are, and if anyone makes more delicious Spanish Garnacha for this price, I’ve yet to taste it.
- Navarra is a little-known Spanish wine region. Because it’s not famous, top wines like Gonzalo’s offer amazing value. That makes signing him a huge scoop.
Gonzalo Celayeta's Story
Gonzalo's Story
"I was born in Pamplona 1976, and I’m now living in the medieval town of Olite.
Biologist by education (university of Navarra) and them a degree in enology (Universidad de la Rioja), I started my career in the EVENA (estacion de viticulture y Enologia de Navarra) were I stayed for 4 years, doing tests and trials, in lots of different investigation projects both involving enology and vineyards.
After that I worked as winemaker for 2 years in Bodegas Pagos de Araiz, whilst there I set up the company SERVINO to assist other wineries, and on top of that I started my own project -Gonzalo Celayeta wines.
Today I am the main winemaker in San Martin de Unx cellar were I get to work with top quality wines and the best of the local varieties (specially GARNACHA, my passion.)
All my family has been related to the vineyard, my grandfather was a grower and my family has always had some vineyards in Olite area, I started studying biology but I soon realize that my passion was wine, and I started directing all my efforts to make my dream come true.
My favourite things about being a winemakers… to be able to see all the process from the grapes to the bottle, I also love to walk in the plots and see its evolution, and to try and figure out how the wine is going to be...
I think my passion is what makes my wines so special... I love what I do, and that is reflected in the wines.
I think Garnacha is the variety that can express better the terroir, on top of that in Navarra the Garnacha is very fresh and fruity , two of the things that are in the top of my list when it comes to wine, and of course in a way is a cultural thing as Garnacha has always been “our variety” “my family variety”.
I still remember the first wine I was left to do on my own.... Garnacha rose, 20.000 litres, I remember the plot I choose to do it, I remember the tank as it was yesterday and I remember the feeling of a well done wine, done 100% by myself... that's the joy, the sorrow is to realise today that what at that time I thought it was the best wine ever made, it was not that good and to have joy again when you realise that ALWAYS is possible to improve....
I have always thought that some grapes from different areas would help me to round out the wines, and without Naked Angels help it would have been impossible to get the money to be able to choose what I need to make the wine so special.
Because I found out that Naked Wines people have the same spirit than me, you like to try new things and are not afraid to come out of the "establishment"
The thing I have found about working with Naked Angel funding is it means more responsibility. You cannot fail. When it’s your own money, it’s your own risk, crowdfunding puts a lot of pressure on you as you cannot fail so many people...and I love it."
