A new era for Bernabéu hospitality fuses fine wine, haute cuisine and footballing heritage.
In a move set to redefine luxury in sport, Real Madrid hosted an extraordinary evening alongside The Golden Vines at Bernabéu’s presidential suite. The world-renowned fine wine enterprise has been chosen to curate the wine, spirits and events programme for the Bernabéu 1947 Private Members Club, due to open for the 2026–2027 season. The alliance unites the world’s most iconic football venue with a leading curator of fine wine, rare spirits and money-can’t-buy experiences, creating a new benchmark for stadium hospitality.
The Bernabéu 1947 Vision
Named for the year the original stadium was inaugurated, the Bernabéu 1947 Club distils Real Madrid’s values of heritage, ambition and excellence into a private members’ space. Following its astonishing transformation, the stadium is now much more than a venue for 90 minutes of football; it is evolving into a year-round destination for culture, gastronomy, and entertainment.
A Stadium Debut Like No Other
The partnership was unveiled with what many guests regarded as the most exclusive fine wine and Michelin‑level dinner ever held in a football stadium. On Tuesday 9 December, 35 VVIP guests, including senior Real Madrid figures such as José Ángel Sánchez Periáñez and select international collectors, gathered in the Palco de Honor, the club’s spectacular presidential suite overlooking the pitch.
Two Michelin-star chef, Ramón Freixa created a one‑night‑only menu, paired with an extraordinary line‑up of wines curated by The Golden Vines: Dom Pérignon P2 2004, Domaine Bonneau du Martray Corton‑Charlemagne 2018, Domaine Fourrier Clos St Jacques 2019 and Griotte‑Chambertin Grand Cru 2019, Château Angélus 2016, Liber Pater 2007 and Château d’Yquem 1998. Estate principals including Jean‑Marie Fourrier, Stéphanie de Boüard‑Rivoal, Loïc Pasquet, Lorenzo Pasquini and Thibaut Jacquet were present to introduce their wines in person.
Haute Cuisine Above the Hallowed Turf
The setting was conceived as haute couture rather than corporate hospitality. Guests dined at a single, dramatically elongated table in the Palco de Honor, dressed with sculptural florals and candlelight, with uninterrupted views onto the presidential seats and the pitch below.
Freixa’s menu showcased both technical precision and playful luxury: Terciopelo de Coliflor with jamón gelée and Caviar Paris 1925 alongside Bonneau du Martray; Bogavante Wellington with Champagne sauce paired with the two Fourrier cuvées; Jarrete de Ternera with truffled parmentier and glazed onions served with Angélus and Liber Pater; and an autumnal ode of almond, quince and chestnut for dessert with Yquem. For many, it was the most memorable dining experience they had ever had in a sporting arena, underscoring the level at which Bernabéu 1947 intends to operate.
In this fusion of transformation and legacy, the Bernabéu is not merely raising the bar for stadium experiences; it is actively defining a new category of elite lifestyle and unique experiences that inspires awe.
The Golden Vines: Best of the Best
Behind the programme stands Lewis Chester, financier, celebrated collector, founder of The Golden Vines and Liquid Icons, Honorary Lifetime President of the Gérard Basset Foundation, and fine wine & rare spirit columnist for Robb Report. Liquid Icons is the organiser of The Golden Vines Awards, which has just celebrated its fifth edition in Miami and will return to London between 6–8 November 2026, reinforcing the brand’s status as a global convenor for the world of fine wine and rare spirits.
Under Chester’s stewardship, The Golden Vines has become one of the most influential names in fine wine, known for the Golden Vines Awards and the Golden Vines Report, both regarded as global reference points for the industry and independently verified by Deloitte. The brand is equally recognised for its philanthropic mission: through the Gérard Basset Foundation, it funds scholarships and work placements for talented individuals from financially disadvantaged or under‑represented backgrounds, helping them enter the worlds of wine, spirits and hospitality.
The Golden Vines Connoisseur Programme
The Golden Vines partnership with the Bernabéu 1947 Club sits within the Golden Vines Connoisseur Programme, a tailored offering designed to elevate fine wine within the wider realm of luxury experiences. At its core, the programme brings together remarkable experiences and products that meet only the most exceptional standards of quality and prestige, aligning seamlessly with partners whose values centre on excellence, authenticity and global stature, such as Real Madrid.
Far more than a traditional hospitality upgrade, the Connoisseur Programme is designed to educate and inspire guests to explore the highest expressions of fine wine and rare spirits — transforming appreciation into true connoisseurship. By deepening their knowledge and passion across a meticulously assembled portfolio, the programme encourages guests to trade up and discover pinnacle cuvées and bottlings, while delivering unique, unforgettable luxury experiences that feel entirely at home in the world of elite sport and travel.
Golden Vines has already deployed the Connoisseur Programme in some of the most high‑profile sporting and travel environments in the world. Recent collaborations include the Brooklyn Nets at the Crown Club in the Barclays Center, an ultra‑intimate locker‑room experience with the Los Angeles Chargers at the SoFi Stadium, and a major‑league activation with the New York Mets, with the concept now also being introduced across all shuttle flights, charters and fractional‑ownership jets operated by SLATE Aviation in the United States.
From Arsenal Fan to Madrid Pinnacle
Chester’s long‑standing passion for both fine wine and football, and in particular his devotion to Arsenal, makes his partnership with Real Madrid all the more resonant. “This partnership with Real Madrid is the pinnacle of my fine wine career to‑date,” he says. “To create experiences for the most successful club in the history of world football, in one of the most iconic stadiums ever built, is an incredible privilege.”
The Bernabéu 1947 Club will function as far more than a match‑day perk. Open throughout the week, it is conceived as a fully-fledged private members’ club, hosting tastings, verticals, rare‑spirit nights and collaborations with leading chefs, all with the pitch as a constant backdrop.
Stadia: The Last Frontier of Luxury
Chester sees stadium hospitality as one of the great untapped frontiers of luxury. “Modern sport attracts fans from every economic background, but at the very top end, some of the most sophisticated and wealthy supporters still don’t receive the level of hospitality they expect elsewhere,” he notes.
For a venue as iconic as the Bernabéu, he argues, it is “inevitable” that it should become a destination for fine dining and the world’s greatest wines. With The Golden Vines overseeing fine wines, rare spirits and unique events under the Connoisseur banner, Real Madrid is positioning itself as the first major club to fully leverage this potential, turning its stadium into a cultural and gastronomic hub as well as a footballing one.
An “Impossible” Opening: Vintage 1947
To mark the full opening of the Bernabéu 1947 Club, The Golden Vines is planning an inaugural dinner built entirely around the legendary 1947 vintage, echoing the year of the stadium’s foundation. The vintage is one of the most coveted and scarce in wine history, making it a natural focal point for the club’s first great chapter.
“The 1947 vintage is among the most highly regarded and rarest you can find,” says Chester. “As part of the opening, we will create an extraordinary dinner around the greatest wines of that year, including the mythical Château Cheval Blanc 1947. It will be an ‘impossible’ dinner of unicorn wines.” For serious collectors, such an event would be a once‑in‑a‑lifetime opportunity, weaving Real Madrid’s history directly into the fabric of the wine list.
Real Madrid: Greatness Beyond the Pitch
Real Madrid’s record gives context to the scale of the collaboration: since 1902, the club has amassed 36 La Liga titles, 15 European Cups/Champions Leagues and 20 Copa del Rey trophies, alongside a formidable haul of domestic and international silverware unmatched in world football. The Bernabéu 1947 Club extends that culture of winning beyond sport, using the renovated stadium’s new infrastructure of luxury suites and multifunctional spaces to host global entertainment and elite events.
With The Golden Vines shaping its wine and spirits programme as part of a broader Connoisseur strategy across sport and luxury travel, Bernabéu 1947 ensures that the standards of its hospitality match those of the football the stadium hosts. The Bernabéu is now confirmed as the ultimate stage for creating moments of extraordinary new luxury, setting the global benchmark for what a destination venue can achieve.
