With its commitment to art, history and nature, Bodega Otazu shows us, through its contemporary art gallery and wine museum, the importance of the link that has always been present between culture and wine. In the museum of the Señorío de Otazu, you can appreciate numerous restored instruments, many of them unique, graphic material on the history and life of the Señorío dating from the 12th century, historical testimonies of wine as a cultural element, and finally multiple exhibitions that aim to contextualize the new Otazu project within the rich and long history of wine and its link with this land of Navarre.
Contemporary art is something very present in the winery. “Wine is much more than a product,” stresses Guillermo Penso, General Manager of the winery. “It is a cultural fact present in the Bible to this day and that has a social basis beyond the pure pleasure of enjoying it.”
The fusion of the project with art at Otazu began in 2002 with the acquisition of the first works. Likewise, the 32 plots into which the vineyard has been divided are named after thinkers, writers, musicians and painters, all with an intimate relationship with wine. The link between wine and art can also be seen on the labels of the wine bottles, designed by renowned artists.
Today Otazu has some 70 pieces by international artists. Among them, the following monumental works stand out:
- Guardianes I & II de Xavier Mascaró. Estas piezas monumentales de hierro miden 3 m de alto por 2 m de ancho. Representan una fusión entre la posición Buda y los guerreros de la Edad Media. A través de estas esculturas, el artista simboliza su sermón sobre la muerte y sobre el paso del tiempo. Son guardianes de lo importante, de lo esencial. La bodega eligió a estas esculturas para ilustrar las etiquetas de los dos vinos de D.O.P. Pago de Otazu.
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- “La Obtusa de Otazu” del artista Rafael Barrios. Esta escultura de hierro destaca por la ilusión de óptica que produce. Es una escultura plana de tan solo 1cm de grosor con una tonalidad rosa, pero el hecho de que el material esté ligeramente doblado lleva al observador a creer que la pieza es en 3 dimensiones. Al desplazarse alrededor de la pieza, parece que la profundidad y el tamaño de las formas cambian y que desaparecen virtualmente.
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- “La Cabeza de Ariadna” de Manolo Valdez. This sculpture has become a symbol of identity for the winery. It presides over the entrance of the old winery building and welcomes its visitors. It symbolizes the myth of Ariadne’s thread, who saved Theseus from the labyrinth thanks to a thread, while he had to face the Minotaur. Bodega Otazu chose this sculpture to illustrate the wine labels of the Otazu range, as a tribute to the mother of the wine’s creator, Enopion, who was born of her love with Dionysus, the god of wine.
