Director and owner of Cooparage Martin & Vazquez of the Franlik Imexport Spain SL Group.
Partner H&A in Logroño Spain
Francisco Vazquez
Director and owner of Cooparage Martin & Vazquez of the Franlik Imexport Spain SL Group.
Partner H&A in Logroño Spain
How did you get into the world of wine?
Well, through the cooperage sector. I come from the village of Elciego in Rioja Alavesa. My family founded the first cooperage workshop in this village and later moved to Logroño.
Since I was little, I combined my financial and marketing studies with learning to make barrels in the family business. One of my memories of childhood, is the purchase of my first moped thanks to the salary I earned from my work of sorting staves every Saturday mornings.
During the following years, a large part of my oenology training was doing in France and Spain, collaborating in the tasks of harvesting and aging wines with customers of our cooperage; coordinated with work in sawmills in the USA and France where I was able to learn and study the most suitable types of oak for the manufacture of barrels and their evolution in wines, spirits, still wines .........
Do you remember your first contact with wine?
Perfectly. When I was 12 years old, my grandfather Pedro in Elciego put me on the cart pulled by his donkey (Paquita) and took me to one of his vineyards very early in the morning and taught me how to use the corquete to cut the bunches of grapes. A few hours later, it was time for lunch and I tasted the red wine from the leather boot my grandfather was carrying. It was one of the most special moments in my relationship with wine.
The following year, with my father Moises, we had a small subway cellar in the cooperage, with French / American and chestnut oak barrels in different capacities and I learned to raise, filter and clarify the wine with egg white and bottling it manually. This is how the wine was awakening feelings within me.
Is there anything in particular you would like to say about your company?
In the wine sector, what one feels for the company is affection, as well as a great respect for our customers, partners, suppliers and team of artisan workers in our production centers.
It is a great pride and a great responsibility to carry on our shoulders the task of making decisions every day about the preparation of the types of barrels that will contain many of the best Spanish and international wines and spirits. Our values are always honesty, transparency and an eye to the future, which has allowed us to maintain and grow the company since its beginnings.
How did you hear about H&A ?
Our relationship with H&A dates back to 2007 when the H&A team in Madrid presented us with the barrel park management project and their offer of financing for the purchase of barrels by our clients.
Many of our clients immediately accepted and incorporated this innovative barrel purchase system in their investment plans and every year new wineries are added to the H&A portfolio.
What do you like about H&A ?
For us to receive H&A barrels with all their traceability, analysis and history is a guarantee that we are working with very high quality barrels.
Their commitment to the environment and continuous recycling makes the used barrels a safe value.
Relationship with H&A ?
It’s an intelligent company. It is a pleasure to collaborate with a tireless, innovative partner that knows how to listen to customers and suppliers.