Artesano Vintners

Artesano Vintners

Vilaseca, Catalunya, Spain

Artesano Vintners is the project of New Zealanders Mikey Shepherd and Alex Craighead, born from a friendship and shared approach to wine that stretches back to their time working harvests in New Zealand. Originally from Waiheke Island, Mikey spent several years teaching English around the world before settling in Barcelona in 2008. Wine entered the picture during a year back in New Zealand, when he worked the 2011 harvest at Cambridge Road in Martinborough and met Alex, who was working nearby and already consulting on wine projects in Spain.

Back in Catalunya, Mikey began working alongside Alex in the cellar, and after making wine together in Spain and New Zealand they decided to start a project of their own. Their first vintage as Artesano came in 2016 and amounted to just 1,000 bottles, made in borrowed cellar space. Production grew gradually from there, and in 2023 they established a more permanent base in Vilaseca, close to Reus and Tarragona, where they share a cellar with another winemaker. Today production sits at around 20,000 bottles a year, including collaborative projects and wines made for long-time supporters such as Barcelona's Bar Brutal.

Without vineyards of their own, Mikey and Alex have built close relationships with a small group of organic growers across Catalunya. Having initially worked with fruit around Reus and Conca de Barberà, today their focus is increasingly on higher-altitude vineyards and limestone soils. In Terra Alta they work with Garnatxa, Garnatxa Blanca, Carinyena and Macabeu, while in Penedès they source Parellada, Xarel·lo and Macabeu. All the vineyards they work with are certified organic, with vines generally between 35 and 45 years old.

In the cellar, their philosophy is particularly centered around blending: rather than trying to showcase individual parcels, Mikey and Alex begin with an idea of the wine they want to make and use different varieties and components to find the balance and profile they are looking for. Fermentations are spontaneous, intervention is kept to a minimum and sulphur is used little or not at all.

The resulting wines are bright, Mediterranean and immensely drinkable, with a freshness drawn from their preference for altitude and limestone. Their names are taken from Catalan: 'Taronja' means orange, 'Lluminos' luminous or bright, 'Morat' a deep purple or bruised colour, and 'Rosat', simply, rosé.