From Bathtub to Master of Wine: The Engineer Behind Bodegas Frontonio
- clay jugs, 28 vines, & garnacha blanca,
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Today’s story revolves around an engineer.
Oh! Way to make it all about you!
Not me actually! People assume there is a huge jump from engineering to wine, but there really isn’t. Wine revolves around several things:
grape growing (biology, geography, geology, meteorology, climatology, and agriculture),
the business of wine (math, economics, and marketing), and
winemaking (chemistry and process engineering (equipment, instrumentation, temperature control, vessels, etc.)).
Fair! Lots of science and math.
Applied science and math to be exact! That’s the definition of engineering.
Interestingly, in the past to be accepted into the oenology (winemaking) department in Catalunya, Spain, you had to have another degree. Engineering was a common first degree.
So, who’s the engineer anyway, I assume he’s Spanish?
Fernando Mora, MW, the founder & winemaker of Bodegas Frontonio in Aragon, Spain. Since Aragon is the neighbour of Catalunya, it jibes that today’s story’s main character is an engineer from Spain.
MW stands for Master of Wine. Fernando became a Master of Wine in 2017. This is a big deal. There are currently only about 425 MWs globally.
After the Second World War the wine world needed some help, like many other industries. The Wine and Spirit Association and the Vintners’ Company were already establishing standards of education in the British wine trade. Together they set up the Institute of Master of Wine (IMW) program in 1953 (the education body from which MWs graduate). Gradually the MW program grew to serve the wine industry beyond Britain, including having approved program providers offering the training globally.
To pass the rigours of the MW program, candidates need to understand all aspects of wine. They must write many theory papers, pass many blind tasting exams, and author individual research papers. Only 521 people have become MWs since 1953, with about 425 of those people still living.
But back to Fernando. He worked as an engineer in the automotive and wind energy industries, and eventually turned his wine hobby into a profession. It started with 28 vines in his grandparents’ garden and a kit including ice-based temperature control set up in a bathtub.
His first vintage was in 2008, and in 2013 Bodegas Frontonio, his winery, was born!
Let’s go to Spain!! This is where we talk geography!
Here is a map from the Bodegas Frontonio website. Zone into the red blotch indicated by the red line where Bodesgas Frontonio is located in Aragon, west of the city of Zaragoza.
The featured wine is made in the IGP of Valdejalon in the Ebro Valley. The Ebro River is one that is associated with other major wine regions, namely Rioja, Alava, and Navarra. IGP stands for Indicación Geográfica Protegida in Spanish — “Protected Geographical Indication” in English. This is a wine zone that has specific sets of wine rules.
Of course, you guessed it that the featured wine, Botijo Blanco, comes from Bodegas Frontonio. Botijo Blanco is made from 100% Garnacha Blanca, also called Grenache Blanc in French. Blanca and Blanc mean white in English.
I thought Garnacha was only a black grape!
Understandable.
Its more common form is its black grape version, but it also comes in white and grey!
When people talk about Garnacha how will I know if they are talking about the black, white, or grey Garnacha?
If the colour is not included in the name – it will be black. Otherwise it is explicitly stated. This is fair, since the white and grey versions are clones of the black Grenache grape.
Garnacha Blanca is typically a blending grape in France, including in the regions of Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon, and the southern Rhone, as well as south of the French border into Spain’s Rioja and Priorat. But at Bodegas Frontonio, Garnacha Blanca is the star!
By the way a botijo, which is seen on the label, is a traditional Spanish clay water vessel.
How about a bathtub?
Shouldn’t that be on the label?
That would be fun marketing!
Scroll down to the featured wine section to see the label and the botijo.
But no bathtub – boo.
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Bodesgas Frontonio Botijo Blanco 2024, IGP of Valdejalon, Aragon, Spain
Style: Mineral driven medium body white wine
Variety(ies): Garnacha Blanca
This wine has intensity with precise and complex aromas and flavours. Right out of the bottle are precise aromas of yellow apple and pear finished with wet stone and saline. Eventually come notes of white pepper and an undercurrent of cardamon and unripe peach. At the final stage juicy, slightly tart mandarin, lemon, and tart apple come into play with the weakest hint of cream. It is medium bodied, has fresh acidity, a phenolic grip that adds interest, and a long finish.
Best pairings: Coconut shrimp with mild chili sauce, Grilled sea bass with citrus, Grilled scallops, Roast chicken with white pepper and cardamom, and Seafood paella, Cheese: Manchego, Mahon, and Goat cheese with zest and olive oil.
Serving Temperature: 7 - 9 degrees Celsius
Serving Tips: Pour & enjoy
Price: ~$24 Cdn
Relevant Shades of Grape links: Keep scrolling
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LINKS TO RELEVANT PAST SHADES OF GRAPE ARTICLES:
SOURCES
Bodegas Frontonio, no date. Bodegas Frontonio. [online] Available at: https://bodegasfrontonio.com/en/home/ [Accessed 30 May 2026].
Foods and Wines from Spain, no date. Valdejalón VDT. [online] Available at: https://www.foodswinesfromspain.com/en/wine/regions/ebro-river-valley/valdejalon-vdt [Accessed 30 May 2026].
Harding, J. and Robinson, J., 2023. The Oxford companion to wine. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jancis Robinson, no date. Abruzzo’s new avant-garde: Part 2. [online] Available at: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/abruzzos-new-avant-garde-part-2 [Accessed 30 May 2026].
Masters of Wine, no date. Fernando Mora MW. [online] Available at: https://www.mastersofwine.org/fernando-mora-mw [Accessed 30 May 2026].
McNeil, K., 2022. The Wine Bible. 3rd ed. New York: Workman Publishing.
Shades of Grape, no date. Corks and classrooms: Navigating the wine world. [online] Available at: https://www.shadesofgrape.ca/p/corks-and-classrooms-navigating-the?utm_source=publication-search [Accessed 30 May 2026].
Shades of Grape, no date. How a 1978 clone brought Germany... [online] Available at: https://www.shadesofgrape.ca/p/how-a-1978-clone-brought-germany [Accessed 30 May 2026].
Shades of Grape, no date. Not just Priorat’s shadow: Why Montsant. [online] Available at: https://www.shadesofgrape.ca/p/not-just-priorats-shadow-why-montsant [Accessed 30 May 2026].
TasteAtlas, no date. Valdejalón. [online] Available at: https://www.tasteatlas.com/valdejalon [Accessed 30 May 2026].
Wine & Spirit Education Trust, 2025. D3: Wines of the World – An accompaniment to the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. Version 1.2. London: Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
WorldAtlas, no date. The Ebro River of Spain. [online] Available at: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-ebro-river-of-spain.html [Accessed 30 May 2026].