Izadi seduces the stars

Bodegas Izadi, from the DOCa Rioja, yesterday became the official wine of the new Michelin star award ceremony in Helsinki, which proclaimed two new three-starred wines. 

Izadi was the wine chosen to pair with the ceremony that unveiled the new stars of the Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland. The winery, located in the Rioja Designation of Origin and with its roots in gastronomy in the hand of its founder, Gonzalo Antón,  was the protagonist in Helsinki of the most important gastronomic event in Scandinavia and one of the most exciting in recent years. A region whose gastronomic culture has always reaped great success, headed by René Redzepi's renowned Noma.

The event, which took place at the City Hall of the Finnish capital, brought together candidates from the five Nordic countries. It was at the presentation ceremony and post gala dinner where Izadi landed with its wines. Concretely, it was Izadi Selección, both white and red, the wine with which chefs who reached the stars awarded by dean Michelin guide toasted. Wines, by the way, very ‘riojanos’, as in both cases they are made from the native varietals (whites or red) under the designation.

For Lalo Antón, general manager of Bodehas Izadi, “we are in front of what suppose a milestone for our history. Forty years ago, when we made our first crianza, it was impossible to imagine that we would be thousands of kilometers away from Villabuena de Álava, sharing a table with some of the best chefs in the world”.

The 2024 edition will be remembered for the proclamation of two new establishments with three Michelin stars, the publication's highest distinction. One of them is chef Eric Kragh Vildgaard’s Jordnaer restaurant in Denmark. The other new tri-starred was Norwegian Sven Erik Rena, of the restaurant Re-naa. Izadi witnessed this great success of the Nordic gastronomy that is generating so much expectation.