Xandra Falcó: "At my sister Tamara's wedding she will drink my rosé wine"

Arrive at the appointment in one of the elegant lounges of the Ritz Hotel in Madrid late. It is a special afternoon for Xandra Falcó (Madrid, 56 years old): she presents in society the new vintage of the wine that she began to make with Sierra de Cantabria in the first year of the pandemic, a memory that she carries with her and of which she wants to avoid any halo of sadness —in six months her father, Carlos Falcó, her uncle, died. Fernando Falcó, and her husband, Jaime Carvajal. Life goes on, she says, and outside in the garden, where live jazz plays, her guests await her. There are businessmen, winemakers, professionals from the art world, chefs and relatives, including his father-in-law, Jaime Carvajal y Urquijo, or his sisters-in-law, Victoria Carvajal and Amparo Corsini.

Question. He has a wine bearing his initials, XF.

Answer. It is a project that is born from the illusion, continuity and wanting to continue in the world of wine, after leaving the family winery [Bodega Pagos de Familia Marqués de Griñón] and also contributing something new, that's why I thought about the world of rosé, because it is a wine that still has a lot to prove. Outside of Spain it is super fashionable, but here it still costs a little. It is a fantastic wine, for the temperature, the climate, and fits with the Mediterranean lifestyle. It is a wine of enjoyment and gastronomy. I didn't want to make just any rosé.

Q. Do you now make wine to order?

A. The winery is not mine, but this is a joint project with Marcos and Miguel Eguren. I play the quarters, but jointly.

Q. He misses having his own winery.

A. I miss that whole time, which was wonderful. The world of wine is a world of families. I am still a shareholder of the family winery, although I am not in the day to day I still carry it inside. I'm not in charge, but I'm still there. The world of wine is part of my life, it catches you and helps you. It is always in the medium and long term. From the moment you think about a project until that wine is made, a lot of time passes. Quality things have to be done slowly, and time, roots and field help you get through the tough drinks too.

Q. But life goes by very quickly.

A. Very quickly. I just came home from my oldest daughter's graduation in New York. It's been incredible, he's already 23 years old and he's finished his university degree. It's spectacular, it scares you. It happens very quickly. And in the world of wine everything goes slower. And in this case it is a new brand with good surnames, but with its own name. And it's hard to make a hole for yourself.

In the United States, rosé is the champagne of young people. There young people drink only rosé wine. That is my ambition, that in Spain the rosé is the reference wine for the celebrations.

Xandra Falco

Q. In your case, it will be easier. It bears the surname Falcó, which is increasingly mediatic.

A. It always has been, but it may be increasingly so. I have lived it hand in hand with my father, and being known, obviously, helps you to tell what you are doing, but it is essential to do things right. If you are known, but you do things wrong, the project will not go ahead. We start from quality, from doing everything towards excellence.

Q. He has lived under the elegant shadow of his father, the Marquis of Griñón, and now under the phenomenon of his sister Tamara.

A. Totally. I will always be the daughter and sister of, but I believe in my project and insist that the world of wine is very special, where the usual marketing of other products does not work. In quality wine you have to be true, there have to be roots, vineyards, know-how, and if that is not there it does not work. The media part is there, but I am more vertical, more deep. That does not mean more than my father or my sister, what I mean is that my project is deep and long-term. And there are times when the most media is more fleeting. But at Tamara's wedding we will toast with XF.

Q. Will you drink your wine at the wedding?

A. Yes, the wine will be served. We have already toasted in the marriage proposal and we will toast at the wedding with the rosé. It's a good business card. The brands must be built step by step and with lead feet. Visibility is very important, but you also have to be in restaurants and shops.

Q. It is a vote of confidence on the part of the family.

A. The family is very close, and we love each other very much. We have proven it, and the five brothers love and support each other always.

Q. You have taken the reins of your father in the Círculo Fortuny, the non-profit association that promotes prestigious cultural and creative brands, what is luxury for you?

A. It is the knowledge, the know-how, the trade, which carried out for years leads to excellence. Luxury is linked to price, but when there is a value chain behind it that proves it. It is culture, know-how, they are the hands of a master craftsman. Talking about the Spain brand from excellence contributes to making our country brand better, and helps to sell our products, starting with wines or oils, outside of Spain.

Xandra Falcó, before the presentation of the new vintage of her rosé wine XF. INMA FLORES

Q. Does making wine outside the family give you more freedom?

A. Yes. In the winery I was very happy and with my father I worked very well. In the end, doing your own project gives you more freedom because it's you. I in the world of wine am loved and know me a lot, despite the daughter of and the sister of, but I am also Xandra. I have spent a lot of sole. I've worked hard and worked hard, as it's the only way for things to work out. If not, no matter how much visibility you have, they do not come out.

Q. Will there be a new generation of winemakers in the family?

A. Let's hope it attracts them. My daughters love the world of wine, they love the countryside, but at the moment zero pressure. You have to get to it. I was late. I was involved as a child, I loved the countryside, the tastings and everything that had to do with the winery, but I didn't start working with my father until I was 30.

Q. Are you concerned about climate change and how it is affecting wine?

A. The vegetative cycle from the sprout of the vineyard to the harvest is very important, when it is too hot or when it does not rain makes us have complex years. The fact that it is dry also helps to have fewer diseases, but it is beginning to be noticed. It generates tension, you have to be more above the vineyard, doing green pruning, removing herbs. In our case it is a sustainable agriculture, with the least possible intervention, but it demands more.

Q. Have you had a hard time making this rosé?

A. It has been difficult for me to break molds. At first, when I proposed to Marcos and Miguel the rosé —there was also my uncle Fernando, who was a counselor of the winery—, they were surprised, and told me to do a red project together. I told them that we had to do something new, different, where I could contribute something different. And there are no great rosés in Spain made from the vineyard. We have a climate to produce them and to consume them. In the United States, rosé is the champagne of young people. There young people drink only rosé wine. That is my ambition, that in Spain the rosé is the reference wine for the celebrations.

Q. Many wineries already have their rosé.

A. Yes, but in this case, and it was what I wanted to contribute, is that this is my first wine, and in many cases, the rosé is the third wine for a winery. This is what I want to focus on and show that there are great rosés in Spain, and put my name on this project. At the moment, there are 30,000 bottles and 1,000 magnums, and the price in store is 19 euros.

Q. Now rosés are expensive.

A. In the history of rosés there have been many cheap and made with the least important grapes, and of less quality, and here we have done the opposite, we have chosen the best grapes to make a rosé of these characteristics. For me it is my flagship, so the selection of grapes has to be very good. It is a floral wine, elegant, but at the same time it has a wide palate, and it is a gastronomic wine.

Q. Will there be more XF wines?

A. We'll see, we have to wait.