Winemaker
Javier Martínez de Salinas
- Discipline
- Winemaker
- Based in
- Logroño, Spain
i. Biography
The Climb
Technical work in Rioja is built on control of process: laboratory checks, production-line discipline, and tasting for consistency. Javier Martínez de Salinas came into that work through the University of Navarra, then started as quality control manager at Agrovin in Alcázar de San Juan, Ciudad Real (until 1989). That early post sits close to the core of the trade: measuring, correcting, and reading the evidence before it becomes a finished wine. A broader cellar brief followed at El Coto de Rioja S. A. In Oyón, Álava (1989–1998), where Javier Martínez de Salinas served as winemaker and head of quality and production. The pairing matters. Winemaking and quality control do not sit far apart in a serious house; the same hand that shapes style also has to hold standards, production rhythm, and repeatability. Since 1998, that remit has widened further: he has been technical director of Bodegas Olarra and Bodegas Ondarre, and he is also technical director of Bodegas y Viñedos Casa del Valle. That span of roles points to a career defined by continuity, with technical judgment carrying across labels and harvests.
Today
At Grupo Bodegas Olarra in Logroño, Javier Martínez de Salinas works from the technical side of Rioja, where the brief is not performance but reliability, house style, and disciplined execution. The job sits between vineyard material and bottle-ready wine, with decisions that have to hold up in tasting, in production, and across time. In a region where identity is read through consistency as much as through novelty, that kind of technical direction carries real weight.
Signature
Javier Martínez de Salinas's signature wines include Cerro Añón, El Rayo Olarra Crianza 2022, Olarra Cuvée Especial Gran Reserva 2019, and Olarra Cuvée Especial Reserva 2020. The list shows a technical hand working across different expressions while staying inside a coherent frame: a flagship name in Cerro Añón, then the more specific dated bottlings of El Rayo Olarra Crianza 2022, Olarra Cuvée Especial Gran Reserva 2019, and Olarra Cuvée Especial Reserva 2020. Taken together, they read as a portfolio shaped by steady control rather than showmanship, with style maintained through repetition and attention.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Javier
What is Javier Martínez de Salinas's current role?
Technical director.
Where did Javier Martínez de Salinas train or study?
Javier Martínez de Salinas trained at University of Navarra.
What recognition has Javier Martínez de Salinas received?
Nominated for International Wine Challenge Red Winemaker of the Year 2024 (2024).
