Hermanas Salinas: a new voice in the Sonsierra of Rioja

Earlier this summer we took part in one of the panel discussion at the Encuentro de Jóvenes Talentos del Vino (Young Wine Talents Gathering), organised in Labastida by EDA and the Basque Culinary Center, a pioneering wine university due to launch in 2027 in Labastida. These events are always charged with positive energy, with young growers from across Spain eager to meet peers, exchange experiences, and share both their dreams and frustrations.

For us, the gathering is also the perfect place to discover new talent and budding projects —like that of Ibone Salinas, a young woman from Briñas, vintage 2022, who plans to release her first wines this Christmas. She will do so under the name Bodegas Hermanas Salinas. And although she currently leads the project on her own, her younger sisters Malen (17) and Irati (20) lend a hand whenever they can.

Born in a family of grape growers, Ibone studied Viticulture in Logroño. Before deciding to bottle the grapes grown by her father and uncle in plots stretching from Villalba to San Vicente de la Sonsierra, the young winemaker —who also works as a lifeguard and aquagym instructor— completed internships at Bodegas Bilbaínas in Haro, Cornelio in Navarrete, and with Manu Michelini in Labastida.

Her debut harvest was 2023 and she filled four barrels, both new and used, with two reds: a pure Tempranillo from old vines in San Vicente, and a blend of Tempranillo, Graciano and Garnacha. In addition, she has a large cask of white Garnacha from vines her family planted a few years ago in San Vicente, which will also be released at the end of the year. The wines will be marketed under the name Jornal, a tribute to the modest wages her parents once earned from the family’s small vineyards. The labels are designed by painter José Uriszar, also from Briñas.

For now, Ibone is working out of a rented space at El Hombre Orquesta winery in Labastida. But her ambition is clear: once the project finds its footing, she hopes to set up her own cellar in Briñas, the village where she lives and hails from. Looking further ahead, she already has her sights on 2026, when she plans to add a carbonic maceration red —a style deeply rooted in the Sonsierra tradition. No out we will follow this new project closely.