The big interview: Toni González

As Spain’s wine industry confronts climate chan ge, few are as well-p laced as J García Carrión’s Toni González to discuss pot ential solutions. Gabriel Stone reports THERE ARE times when it’s useful to have 33 harvests under your belt. Ask any winemaker and they’ll confirm that no two years are ever quite the same in this business, but 2023 certainly wasn’t the vintage to be a rookie oenologist in Southern Europe, let alone in Spain. As director of oenology for J García Carrión, a company that claims to be the largest wine producer in Europe and fourth-largest in the world, Toni González needed to draw on all his considerable experience to get through a very testing year. But 33 vintages don’t just bring expertise; they’re also a vital source of perspective. “I remember challenging harvests like 1995 or 1997, when there was a serious drought in Spain too,” González recalls. Indeed, he adds: “Those harvests were more challenging at the time, because I had less experience.” By contrast, despite the gloomy headlines – the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) anticipates that Spain’s 2023 harvest will be a hefty 19% down on the country’s five-year average – González remains strikingly sanguine. “It’s been OK this year,” he remarks. “Our wineries these days have better equipment to deal with any issues.” González’s responsibilities span the J García Carrión wineries that are dotted all over the country, from Rioja and Penedès to a joint venture in Rueda