Decanter Names Jerez Winemakers Ramiro Ibáñez and Willy Pérez 2026 Rising Stars
Winemakers Ramiro Ibáñez and Willy Pérez have received Decanter's Rising Star 2026 award for their research-driven revival of historical vineyard practices and unfortified wines in Spain's Marco de Jerez region.
Decanter has named Spanish winemakers Ramiro Ibáñez and Luis "Willy" Pérez as the recipients of its Rising Star 2026 award, recognizing their research into the historical identity of Spain’s Marco de Jerez region and their efforts to shift regional winemaking back to vineyard terroir.
Ibáñez (born 1980) and Pérez (born 1982) met as oenology university students in the 2000s. Following their studies, Pérez joined his family winery, Bodegas Luis Pérez, while Ibáñez worked at a local cooperative before establishing his project, Cota 45. In 2015, the duo partnered to revive De la Riva, a historic brand previously owned by Jerez wine and brandy house Pedro Domecq before being acquired and left dormant by Beam Global in 2005.
The revival relied on mid-19th-century records saved by Pérez's father, enologist Luis Pérez. Using these historical archives alongside field research into soils and vineyard sites, Ibáñez and Pérez established De la Riva to explore vineyard-specific styles and historical production methods.
Their work comes amidst broader structural challenges in Marco de Jerez, including declining global demand for traditional fortified wines and rising production costs. According to the producers, regional winemaking over the past several decades had increasingly relied on standardized cellar processes rather than vineyard differentiation. In response, the duo has spearheaded a focus on unfortified white wines, known as *vinos de pasto*, driven by site-specific terroir.
Pérez noted that while unfortified white wines are currently seeing strong market interest, their long-term commercial viability in the region depends on maintaining continuity with traditional Jerez styles, including biologically aged, oxidative, and sweet wines.
Key facts
- Ramiro Ibáñez and Luis 'Willy' Pérez received Decanter's Rising Star 2026 award.
- The pair revived the historic De la Riva brand in 2015 using 19th-century company ledgers.
- De la Riva was formerly owned by Pedro Domecq and acquired by Beam Global in 2005 before being left dormant.
- The producers focus on vineyard-led winemaking and the resurgence of unfortified white wines (vinos de pasto) in Marco de Jerez.
- The strategy addresses regional industry pressures, including shifting demand away from traditional fortified wines and increasing production costs.
Why it matters
The recognition highlights a broader shift in mature wine regions like Marco de Jerez, where producers are adapting to declining demand for traditional fortified styles by leveraging historical research to introduce vineyard-focused, unfortified wines (vinos de pasto).
- Decanter — 2026-10-02: “Decanter Rising Star 2026: 'Jerez mavericks' Ramiro Ibáñez and Willy Pérez”
This article was prepared by WBI.org from the sources listed above with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a WBI editor before publication. Information is attributed to its original sources.