Bodegas Aalto is one of the most important new projects to emerge from Spain in recent years. Since Mariano García and Javier Zaccagnini joined forces in 1999, the winery has acquired some of the best vineyards in Ribera del Duero, including 32 hectares in 3 different sub-regions of Ribera del Duero -- two in the province of Valladolid and one in the province of Burgos. They also have 10 hectares of 60 year-old vines in the Burgos village of Quemada.

These estates have been carefully planted with old clones of Tinto Fino (i.e., Tempranillo adapted to suite Ribera del Duero’s climate), which offers the most characteristic aromas and flavours in the region and is the style that Bodegas Aalto pursues.

Aalto is extremely selective when it comes to grapes: they all undergo a strict selection prior to passing onto fermentation. For the moment Aalto uses stainless steel fermenting tanks, but Mariano remains open to using wood in the future. The wine then ages in oak barrels for periods of time that he determines according to the style and intensity of each specific batch of wine. The wine is not filtered prior to bottling, so that none of its depth and flavour are lost.

In the Fall 2004 issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine, Mariano Garcia was named as one of 50 "Most Influential Winemakers" of 2004. He was quoted in the article as saying, "Spain is currently living a sweet moment. At last we've stopped copying other places, and we're taking advantage of our country's climatic and geologic richness and valuing our viticultural inheritance."