Zaragoza is currently celebrating its status as the World Capital of Garnacha with a wide-ranging program of activities and events for the International Garnacha Festival. Within this program, the Zaragoza City Council has organized the Excellence and Inspiration Meetings for the mornings of June 3, 4, and 5.
Each of these days, between 10:00 AM and 1:30 PM, a dialogue will take place among various national and international figures connected to the wine industry from different perspectives. The morning of June 3 will focus on the topic of “Business Excellence and Wine” and will be held at the Zaragoza Hotel Palafox. On June 4, the discussion will revolve around “Communication, Design, and Wine,” taking place in the Reception Hall of the Zaragoza City Council. For the morning of June 5, the chosen venue is Mobility City Ibercaja, which will host a talk on “Architecture and Wineries.”
The opening of the Excellence and Inspiration Meetings features Enrique Valero, CEO of Abadía Retuerta, and Germán Jiménez Mayordomo, Director of new editorial verticals at El Español. They will discuss the concept of business excellence linked to wine by highlighting the case of Abadía Retuerta, which is ranked among the Top Ten wine tourism destinations in the world.
This dialogue will reveal intriguing connections between the perception of luxury and the wine industry, as well as the links between wine and economic development. At the end of the discussion between the two speakers, there will be an engaging “questions and answers” session open to attendees, a feature that will be repeated at each of the meetings.
The second meeting will be held in the Reception Hall of the Zaragoza City Council. On June 4, the discussions will focus on “Communication, Design, and Wine.” Notable figures from communication and design who have developed interesting projects related to the wine universe will participate.
This meeting will bring together five high-profile personalities. One of them is Alberto Fernández, CEO of Annie Bonnie, an advertising and strategy agency operating in Spain and the United States. Fernández will share his insights into the wine and luxury industries, where prestige, emotion, and desire play a critical role.
Also participating will be David Ruiz, creative director, graphic designer, and founder of the studio ruiz+company in Barcelona, who has developed some of the most innovative branding and art direction projects in Spain’s wine sector, collaborating with names like Bodegas Torres, Hacienda López de Haro, Viña Pomal, and Vintae.
Joining them will be Iván Caíña, a graphic designer and lettering artist known for his personal and expressive style that fuses classical calligraphy with contemporary design. His work is highly valued, especially when applied to wine bottle labels, which encapsulate the essence of a winery in a compact space.
From Chile, Jerónimo Pérez will arrive, co-founder and creative director of the renowned design studio Otros Pérez, based in Santiago and with a presence in Barcelona. His work has been recognized multiple times for its innovative approach to the visual identity of wineries.
The Aragonese contribution will come from Ana Bendicho, creative director of Novo Diseño studio. She is a key figure in modernizing design in Aragon, thanks in part to her various spatial design projects for Aragonese wineries and her long-standing leadership of the jury that selects the label for the Care Nouveau.
To conclude the Excellence and Inspiration Meetings, on June 5, Mobility City Ibercaja, located in the Expo Space of Zaragoza, will bring together internationally renowned architects to discuss architecture as applied to wineries.
The lineup includes Martha Thorne, former executive director of the Pritzker Prize in Architecture. The American is also the dean of the School of Architecture at IE University in Madrid and an architecture curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, bringing extensive experience to the global perspective on winery construction.
Alongside her will be Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, winner of the 2014 Pritzker Architecture Prize. He is the author of several fascinating projects, including the 4G WineEstate for a winery in South Africa’s Franschhoek valley.
Likewise, Portuguese architect Carlos Castanheira, known for his use of wood, will also present various winery projects. This material allows him to integrate into the landscape while providing both tradition and modernity, as well as creating a sensory experience in each project.
The lineup will be rounded out by Kurt Engelhorn, philanthropist and owner of Finca Bell-Lloc, where his winery designed by RCR Arquitectes stands out. This award-winning team designed a subterranean winery constructed of steel and stone, skillfully playing with light and shadow.
This will conclude the Excellence and Inspiration Meeting, an event that adds to the new edition of the International Garnacha Festival 2026 organized by the Zaragoza City Council.
