Alfredo Candela
CEO and owner
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“Digitalization, when properly understood, can support every stage of wine creation, communication, and marketing”
From Yecla, Barahonda has become a benchmark for those who view wine as an expression of territory, tradition, and continuous evolution. Its CEO and owner, Alfredo Candela, represents the balance between tradition and entrepreneurial curiosity that defines the winery. “Our strong ties to the land and our roots, and the defense of all the values associated with them,” he states, are the foundation of their entire philosophy — a vision complemented by “a restless spirit” that constantly drives them to improve and explore new opportunities.
That drive is precisely what led Barahonda to take a decisive step toward digitalization. Not as a trend, but as a real tool for improvement without losing their essence. “Digitalization, when properly understood, can support every stage of wine creation, communication, and marketing,” says the CEO and owner of Barahonda. On that belief, Candela builds his roadmap: “We believe it’s essential, in today’s world, to rely on technology. It allows us to be more innovative with our products and to focus our efforts on what truly ensures quality: the vineyard and the care put into every detail.”
One of the most visible changes has taken place in the area of wine tourism, which in recent years has undergone a deep transformation: “It’s precisely in the wine tourism department where we’re becoming most creative. We’re currently working on a series of changes to enhance the wine tourism experience, where technology will play a leading role,” the winery affirms.
Implementing a reservation platform is one of those key steps. “We want to make it easy and beautiful from the start,” Candela emphasizes. But it’s not just about convenience: “Having all the information about our visitors centralized on a reservation platform allows us to better understand our customers through data culture, in order to build loyalty and provide the best possible service,” he explains.
And while the transformation process might sound drastic from the outside, at Barahonda it has been experienced naturally. “We don’t consider it a drastic change. Nowadays, all businesses need to be digitalized to some degree if they want to keep up. We don’t just want to follow the trend — we aim to be pioneers,” says Alfredo Candela.
Looking ahead, the winery is already considering its next steps: “Gradually integrating AI into daily tasks to optimize our work,” because at Barahonda, it’s not just about talking about the future — it’s about building it from the roots.