The Mendiko cellar opened its doors 24 years ago in the Navarrese town of Aibar, where it produces organic wine with Navarrese designation of origin on its 14 hectares of its own vineyard.
Fourteen years ago they caught Pamplona a store in 3 José María Behobide Street inside Azpilagaña districtnext to Zaragoza Avenue. Sell wine by bottle, case and in bulk from a warehouse without generating waste.
It is very close to other establishments that We discovered local commerce in the Navarrese capital, as is the case of the Tere bakery run by Javier Galbete and open since 1959either the Peñas perfumery, owned by sisters Nieves and Mari Jose, open for 55 years.
Bodegas Mendiko is a family business. Victorino Ibero and his son Imanol They are dedicated to the cellar and to their daughter Maite Ibero Azcarate He is the one who serves customers at the Bodegas Mendiko store in Pamplona.
Maite assures that the cellar predates them: “We took it over at the time to sell our wine here. The store is maybe 30 or 40 years old. and we change it and renew it when we take it.”
The biggest curiosity of the store is that it still sells wine in bulk: “I think we are the only ones in all of Pamplona to sell wine in bulk. It is red and rosé wine. It’s something that has continued since we took it and that sets us apart. In addition, everything is organic and we are the wine producers ourselves,” he emphasizes.
“We are fighting because the ecological world is a little unknown. People are becoming more and more aware of its importance, because we will eventually destroy the planet we live on. The government doesn’t make it very easy, but we do what we can,” says Maite.
In addition to wine, they sell other organic and local products such as legumes, pasta, nuts, breakfast cereals, olive oil, various vinegars, preserves, pastas, artisanal sweets, honey, jams, pickles, pacharán, etc.
“We try to bring things directly from the producer like bread, pasta from the city and as close as possible. Everything is seasonal and as eco-friendly as possible,” explains Maite.
They recently asked to transfer the store: “Let’s see if we can find someone to manage it.” This makes me very sad but The decision is due to personal reasons. We have to leave her. The worst part is saying goodbye to people,” Maite said sadly.
He points out that the store “has a lot of juice, with a lot of traffic and it’s easy to park. If anyone is interested, come talk to us. There are some great things about working for yourself. You have great affection for your customers. It’s a big family. I started at 22 and working with people is something very pleasant,” concludes Maite Ibero.
