Benoit Dreyer
Spain
Talented Spanish winemaker based in the Navarra Region
- Benoit knows better than anyone how to get the tootiest fruit from the grape, into the bottle and then to your glass. He was born to be a winemaker...he made his first wine when he was just 9 years old!
- This Frenchman hails from Alsace, when he moved to Navarra he brought boutique-y love and attention to an area known for its massed produced wines!
- With Decanter and International Wine Challenge Awards a plenty, Benoit shows what great value can be had when an Artisan produces wines at Co-op prices
Vineyard Location
Benoit Dreyer's Story
I joined the team at the Tafalla winery back in 2004, in the heart of the Navarra valley. I grew up working on the family vineyard in Alsace, but I have also travelled the world and worked on vineyards in Australia, Argentina and California.
As my family is a winemaking family for more than 250 years, this probably goes through my veins.
If I were making wine in another winery the wine would be different, and if another winemaker would make wine here the wine would be also different. That’s why my wines are special.
As you guys in England have the widest range of wine from all over the world, drinking wine is also a way of travelling. So drink my wine, close your eyes and let the flavours make you travelling.
I have few stories; this one is more like a blunder: I was an intern working during the vintage in that top winery (I won’t tell which one and you’ll understand why…) and I had to rack this fantastic premium Pinot Noir from a tank to another one. The thing is that the hose was not connected to the other tank when I started to turn the pump on and I think that probably a hundred litres went straight through the sewers…Oops… At 35 dollars a bottle… Fortunately nobody ever knew about it…Except you, now
I have another one: I was again working as an intern in a winery. I was on a ladder on the top of a tank (about 4 meters high) controlling to fill it up. I let you imagine what’s coming next: the ladder slept away with me on it and instinctively I grabbed the support of a very sharp panel that was beside the tank and slipped down to the floor. I won’t explain you how were my ten fingers, all cut all around and I needed between 2 and 3 stitches in each finger…ouch.
I made my first wine at 9 years old. I remember perfectly that I insisted to my grand father to not interact and let me do it as I wanted to do (I’m sure he was controlling the whole process anyway…). It was only a small barrel of 50 litres but the result was a nice Riesling which I was very proud. I’ve been told not too long ago that some bottles are still hidden somewhere in the cellar…
So try my wines, then tell me what you think. I look forward to hearing the Naked thoughts!
