Begin with what you enjoy.
Tell me what you like to drink and eat. We will find words for your preferences, compare styles and give you the confidence to choose your next bottle.
MEET YOUR HOST
Good wine.
Good food.
A good conversation.
Ilja Rijnen
Founder, host & wine educator
I’m Ilja. I created Andalusia Wine Academy to bring together the things I love: wine, food, people and the extraordinary diversity of Andalusia. At Bodega Sierra de Mijas, our private tasting venue in La Sierrezuela, curiosity is all you need to get started.
ROOTS & ROADS
A Dutch table.
A wider world.
People, learning and a lifelong love of the table.
Born and raised in the south of the Netherlands, I grew up with an appreciation for eating and drinking well, and making time for both. With Scottish and Lithuanian roots too, my family heritage is where whisky meets vodka. Wine has always been my first love.
My career in HR, learning and leadership took me through Diageo, Edrington and Beam Suntory, now Suntory Global Spirits. Along the way, my drinks-industry experience has connected me with Scotland’s whisky, Kentucky’s bourbon, Jamaica’s rum and beer, and the cultures of Asia. What stays with me is the people behind the bottle: their skill, pride and generosity.
My years at Edrington also gave me a particular interest in the connection between Jerez and Scotch whisky, where Sherry-seasoned oak helps shape the character of The Macallan. Andalusia’s influence travels a long way.
Food makes that connection even richer. I love cooking with others, including through Les Copains Culinaires Singapore. There is something endlessly rewarding about finding a wine that changes a dish, or a dish that reveals something new in a wine.
THE PLACE THAT STOLE OUR HEARTS
Then came
Andalusia.
Our first family visit became the beginning of a much bigger connection. The olive groves, mountain roads, food and welcome drew us in. The wine gave us another way to understand the place.
I want to share the breadth of that story: ancient wine heritage, vineyards reshaped by phylloxera, and growers carrying local knowledge into a new chapter. Sherry and Málaga’s sweet wines have a treasured place alongside dry Moscatel, mountain reds and rare grapes such as Romé.
Andrea’s interest and expertise in nutrition and my background in psychology meet in our appreciation of good food, purpose and connection. This academy is my way of sharing the joy of discovery and a deeper attachment to the region we love.
OUR TASTING VENUE · OUR PASSION PROJECT
Bodega Sierra
de Mijas.
Private wine tastings · La Sierrezuela, Mijas
Bodega Sierra de Mijas is our private tasting venue in La Sierrezuela, Mijas. It is also the name behind our passion project: creating our own wine label, rooted in Sierra de Mijas and closely following the authentic wine styles of the Denominación de Origen (DO), with our own twist. Our ambition is to give back to the place our family loves and help put Sierra de Mijas back on the world wine map.
The academy brings people closer to Andalusia through learning, tasting and discovery. The wine-label project carries the same love of place into our ambition to create wine. It is a new chapter in development, with its own story to follow.
Discover our passion project at Bodega Sierra de MijasWine-label project in development · bodegasierrademijas.com
HOW I TEACH
Your palate.
Your discoveries.
A master’s degree in psychology and a career in learning and leadership shape my approach: listen, make things clear and help people trust their own observations.
Follow your curiosity.
New to wine? Every question belongs here. Already a committed enthusiast? We can go deeper into a grape, a cellar decision or the connections between neighbouring landscapes.
Keep pleasure at the centre.
We taste, talk, try a bite of food and taste again. The aim is greater enjoyment and discovery: something useful to take home, and a good afternoon along the way.
WINE EDUCATION
Always learning,
always exploring.
The world of wine keeps moving, and so do I. Continuing study, regular tasting and time with growers help me keep my knowledge fresh and bring new discoveries to the table.
WINE & SPIRIT EDUCATION TRUST
WSET Level 3
Course completed
Building a deeper understanding of the choices in the vineyard and cellar that shape the wine in our glasses.
WINE & SPIRIT EDUCATION TRUST
WSET Level 2 Award in Wines
Distinction
A foundation in the world’s principal grapes, wine regions and styles, and the language that helps us discuss them.
THE NETHERLANDS · 2010
SWEN 1
Course completed
The beginning of my formal wine education, and a curiosity that has travelled with me ever since.
WINE SCHOLAR GUILD
Tasting Diploma programme
Ongoing development
My continuing development includes the Wine Scholar Guild Tasting Diploma programme, alongside regular tasting, reading and conversations with growers.
A TASTE OF MY CURIOSITY
Pairings to
explore together.
These are starting points for a conversation. The wines and dishes for your tasting are chosen around your flight, the season and your group.
JEREZ · PALOMINO
Old Amontillado. A mushroom tapa.
A small pour of VORS Amontillado, mushrooms on toast and plenty to talk about. Its savoury depth gives us a lovely starting point for exploring what happens when food and wine meet.
AXARQUÍA · MOSCATEL DE ALEJANDRÍA
Dry Moscatel. Prawns from the grill.
A wine can smell of flowers and still taste beautifully dry. Try a dry Moscatel de Alejandría with grilled prawns, olive oil and a little lemon: an inviting conversation about aroma, freshness and texture.
RONDA · TEMPRANILLO
Ronda red. Rosemary lamb.
A Tempranillo-led red with rosemary lamb cutlets from the grill. A bottle such as Tinto CLA opens up fruit, freshness and the pleasure of discovering how a good mouthful of food changes the glass.
AXARQUÍA · ROMÉ
Romé. A grape worth getting to know.
Sometimes the first pairing is wine with its landscape. The rare local Romé grape, steep hillside vineyards and the work of Viñedos Verticales bring us closer to the people keeping this knowledge alive.
A few of my favourite grapes
- Moscatel de Alejandría
- Tempranillo
- Romé
- Palomino
- Verdejo
AN INVITATION FROM ILJA
Bring your curiosity.
I’ll bring the wines.
Come with a favourite style, a question or simply an appetite for discovery. We’ll find a starting point together, with a tasting shaped around you and your group.