Man with tempranillo

Carlos San Pedro is a winemaker – like his brother, his father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather... This is nothing unusual in Spanish wine families. But Carlos is a bit out of line with his ancestors. But let's start from the beginning: Carlos grew up in picturesque Laguardia in Rioja Álavesa, where – as he says himself – «you breathe wine». As a child, he said, he preferred to spend his weekends among the vines, and to this day that hasn't really changed much: «I don't like to travel, preferring to spend as much time as possible in the vineyard.» Is Carlos San Pedro a wallflower? Far from it! You can tell by his facial features: This man has experienced a lot, has drunk the great wines of this world and seen the great cities. In his free time, Carlos loves to dance flamenco or ride horses – preferably, of course, through his vineyards. There, by the way, the thoroughbred winemaker relies on a single grape variety, the Tempranillo. It is his one and only, and he masters it like no other. It is fascinating how this winemaker, so bursting with temperament, keeps an absolutely cool head when it comes to the well-being of his beloved wines. Every barrel is meticulously checked and, of course, tasted again and again – so as not to miss the perfect moment of maturity. How does Carlos manage to live both precision and enthusiasm in extreme form at the same time? Who knows, maybe we will find the answer to this question in a glass of Hado...

What's on the label is in the bottle. That's what we expect – and it's true in the vast majority of cases. We're not quite sure about the 689. But we particularly want it to be. Because the numbers 6, 8 and 9 promise a long and happy life according to the harmony theory of Feng Shui. But one after the other: In Far Eastern number mysticism, 6 stands for contentment, or more precisely a kind of «flow» state – when everything is going like clockwork. The 8 stands for infinite possibilities, especially with regard to money. Last but not least, 9 promises a long life. The founders of the 689 Cellars winery in California's Napa Valley used to travel a lot in the Far East and have since been convinced of the positive power of these numbers. When the question of a name for their winery came up, they quickly realized that it had to be 689. «Nomen est omen», as the saying goes. The great success of this wine seems to confirm the importance of numbers. We don't believe that happiness can be bought. But wine can – and isn't that the same thing?

«Master of Wine»? Do you imagine tipsy students in a humid and cheerful seminar? Far from it! The «Master of Wine» is the most prestigious wine diploma in the world. And the path to the award is anything but fun: At most a third of those who apply pass the exams at the London Institute of Masters of Wine. At present, just under 400 people worldwide are allowed to adorn themselves with the «MW». Ivan Barbic is one of just five Swiss who have passed the demanding exams. Barbic was born in Zagreb, grew up in Switzerland and studied food science at the ETH Zurich. He then worked in the wine industry for 25 years before earning the much-coveted «Master of Wine» title in 2016. What is Ivan Barbic's day-to-day work like? When he is not traveling to discover new wines – which then often become bestsellers in Switzerland – he writes articles for the «Schweizerische Weinzeitung» or «Vinum». But a «Master of Wine» naturally doesn't miss the opportunity to launch his own wine. Together with the French traditional domain Château d'Agel, Ivan Barbic has created a beautiful red wine from Grenache and Syrah. Once again, it is evident that he has an exceptionally good hand for wine. Or rather a good nose? Both, of course – guaranteed and tested.