María José López de Heredia

María José López de Heredia was born in Haro, La Rioja in 1968. She studied in Haro and then she did her 12th grade in the High School of High Point, North Carolina (USA). After, she studied Law and Theology in the University of Deusto. However, her main ambition was to following the family winery of which she is the fourth generation. When she finished her degree she spent 2 years studying Viticulture and Winemaking in the University of the Rioja obtaining a degree in oenology in 1993. Her main investigation work was the Graciano grape variety. In 2000 she was maded General Manager of her family Company. In 1996 she co-founded the Association of AMAVI (Women friends of wine). She works in all sorts of activities both marketing and the investigation of vines and winemaking. In 1997 she contacted Zaha Hadid for building a wine shop in her winery covering an old wine shop that her great grand father had taken to the Universal exhibition in Brusels in 1910. Since 1999 to 2005 was a manager member of the Rioja Marketing Club. In September 2000 she was front page of the Magazine Readers Digest in relation to an article about “The New Spaniards”. In August 2000 she was the front page of the German Magazine “Alles uber Wein” and was considered by the editor as one of the most important women in the European Wine World. She has been nominated several times as the most important business woman in the Rioja. In October 2004 she was selected by the Magazine Dato Economico as the most important wine businnes woman in the Rioja. In June 2009 she has received the Mercurio award as the most important year executive of the Rioja. She is proud to maintain the traditional vine and winemaking methods and produces wines with a personality that has not changed in 133 years. In 2010 she continues with the family projects.