Broader perspective

Published: (01-06-2008)
Author: Wine & Spirit News Desk

Spain is thriving in the UK through the success of Rioja, but
Patricia Langton sees a lot more on the Iberian winescape
Spanish wines have made steady progress in the UK over the past year, thanks largely to Rioja's strong performance and stable prices. However, the country has been leapfrogged by Chile, which has been enjoying particularly strong growth and currently performs over Spain in the off-trade.
Rioja is praised for quality, innovation and regularly updating itself, especially for red wines. But while there's plenty of enthusiasm for regions such as Ribera del Duero, Toro, Priorat, Montsant, Jumilla and Rueda, getting the message about alternative regions and wine styles through to the consumer in both the off and on-trade remains a challenge.
Off-trade buyers take to the regions
Over at Tesco, buyer James Griswood certainly seems up for the challenge. Enthused by quality improvements in Spain's wines year on year, Griswood's latest range review saw the arrival of 30 new wines, 23 from outside Rioja and more white and rosés. He says: "Although Rioja continues to be the cornerstone of our Spanish offering, I felt we were not offering the diversity of regional wines that Spain has to offer. There are stunning value and consumer-friendly wines coming from regions such as Aragón and Castilla y León, real improvement in value from Ribera del Duero and some wonderfully characterful wines from the likes of Jumilla, Bierzo and Catalonia. Spain has so much still to offer that I see it as a sleeping giant that the UK still hasn't tapped into."
At Booths supermarkets, wine buyer Sally Holloway also sees opportunities for Spanish wines to generate growth for a "relatively flat category" (at Booths) that is largely dependent on promotion, and Rioja.
She's on the lookout for Spanish wines that "have credibility and capture the consumer's imagination". Holloway points to Storks' Tower as a good example - a range of white, rosé and red Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León. Made by Sam Harrop MW in collaboration with Hijos de Antonio Barceló and UK consultants Copestick Murray, the wines were launched last year. Holloway reckons: "It's credible, it's good wine, it's got Spanish heritage and it's not a New World lookalike."
Holloway is prepared to list "really interesting Spanish whites" and she sees good opportunities for rosés. Both whites and rosés are welcomed in screwcap, a closure that is well accepted by her customers.
She concludes: "I'm aiming for a good range of Rioja, including different styles, and good drinking wines from lesser-known regions. I'm looking for wines that have strong appeal to take consumers to different regions."
At Waitrose, Spanish wine buyer Nick Room praises Spanish producers for ongoing improvements in quality and significant improvements in white winemaking, though he'd like to see more rosés and greater use of screwcaps for white and rosé in particular. His latest additions hail from very different regions - Manchuela in the south east, Estremadura in the west while Bierzo and Valdeorras to the north west "show promise".
So are non-Rioja regions making headway? "I'd like to think so, but consumers drive the market, and they seem closely aligned with Rioja ... and Rioja has responded. So you can't blame them," answers Room.
He concludes: "It would be good if other regions got more of a look-in though, because there are plenty of gems out there. In this respect, it is promising to see some major Spanish houses taking the opportunity to reach out to these areas, and build them into their portfolio. I always think Torres do a great job in promoting Spain per se, with other brands now showing progress."
Codorníu, through its Raimat wines, is keen to make a greater impression on the off-trade, and its huge vineyard source - more than 2,000ha in the Costers del Segre DO of Catalonia - could make it well placed to achieve this aim. Last year, Australian Mark Nairn was appointed as Raimat's head winemaker, and he's set about restyling the wines using a wide resource of Spanish and international grapes including Albariño, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Tempranillo, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Two blends: the Abadia Tempranillo/Merlot Crianza and the particularly impressive Abadia Blanc de Blancs (Chardonnay, Albariño and hint of Verdejo) are offered with screwcap closures, and this kind of closure is expected to be adopted for most of the wines in response to UK market trends (if not yet by the Spanish domestic market).
Outlining plans for the revamped range, Codorníu managing director Bill Breen says: "We would like to see Raimat positioned in the off-trade as a major Spanish wine brand, sitting alongside the likes of Torres and offering an interesting and viable alternative to Rioja. We see Raimat as a premium brand in the £6.29-£7.99 price brand, and it is definitely not a brand that will be offered on half-price promotion."
Education is crucial in the on-trade
Spain's challenge in the on-trade closely mirrors that of the off-trade, as Berkmann's London on-trade sales director Jacquie Kay explains: "The challenge is to get the on-trade to look outside Rioja, which is the obvious wine from Spain, and to persuade customers to support a Rioja listing with additional wines from up-and-coming regions such as Toro and Navarra. For example, Navarra is an area that produces red, white and rosé wines all offering a good price/quality ratio and an opportunity for good wines by the glass deals."
Berkmann Wine Cellars is particularly upbeat about Spain following its acquisition of Laymont & Shaw in May, which has expanded a portfolio that already boasts the likes of Navarra's Chivite to include La Rioja Alta, Juve y Camps Cavas and Montenovo of the Valdeorras DO and other producers that will benefit from Berkmann's on-trade strength.
Kay adds: "At Berkmann, we have seen some success in the on-trade with Verdejo, which seems to be a good fit in terms of style and price as it can go on a list at under £20 a bottle and is also a good option for a wine by the glass offering."
Kay believes that education is vitally important to promote regionality and Spain's indigenous grapes. She also calls for more screwcaps on entry-level wines to give Spain a better chance of achieving listings in pubs and bars.
Bibendum Wine, another major on-trade player, offers a varied portfolio of Spanish wines including some less predictable styles and regions such as Casa de la Ermita in Jumilla. Its latest addition - the Els Pyreneus range, which spans Empordà (bordering France on the east coast) and Calatayud - is a superb example of finely crafted wines made in a contemporary style from traditional varieties and often old vines, in this case Garnacha and Cariñena.
So what are Bibendum's tips for on-trade success across a diverse Spanish range?
Having just completed a three-month promotion with some key national accounts, Bibendum's Vince Labat says: "We found that by promoting and empowering staff with the right information and through added-value and the backing of winemakers, the uptake was fantastic. People are thirsty for knowledge and they want something different. They are more prepared to list one other region."
Labat found particular interest for Toro wines including a white Malvasia and reds with various levels of oak ageing, Monastrell and Viognier from Jumilla, Albariño and wines from Montsant and of course Rioja, which he said still leads in terms of demand. However, he concludes: "We are seeing growth year on year for regional Spain and we're getting behind it."
At Meridian, Tony Brown MW believes that Spain doesn't get enough recognition for potentially very marketable "lighter, juicier styles of red wines with soft tannins", which don't seem to find enough shelf space as they are squeezed between the cheapest wines and Rioja.
Does Brown see any change on the horizon in a Rioja-dominated marketplace?
"This year could be interesting. We've started to see Rioja separating away in terms of pricing. The dependency [on Rioja] will disappear when Rioja prices firm up," he says.

 There are more opportunities for wines in screwcap, especially whites and rosés below £10 per bottle. DOs with draconian legislation regarding screwcap closures need to relax regulations fast or producers will miss out.
n Send the UK more rosés and take advantage of Spain's great arsenal of red grape varieties.
n Avoid over-extraction and excessive barrel ageing. Emphasise natural fruit expression and the great character of Spain's grapes and soils.
n Excessively heavy bottles are not welcome. Consider the environment (and it's what's in the bottle that counts anyway).
Spain by numbers
Spain now holds seventh position in terms of market share
by country with 6.8 per cent, up from 6.5 per cent (MAT to April 19 2008, Nielsen)
Spain has grown its off-trade value by 11 per cent (MAT to April 19 2008, Nielsen)

Spain's sales split by colour: 71.7 per cent red, 5.8 per cent rosé, 22.4 per cent white (Nielsen January 26 2008 )
Rioja sold 2,245,000 cases, representing 42 per cent of Spanish sales by value. Total sales were 6.6 million cases. (Nielsen MAT to January 28 2008 ).
Alternative opportunities
Wine & Spirit asked a sommelier, importer and producer/distributor about their most exciting Spanish wine discoveries

The sommelier:

Alvaro Marcos García, head sommelier and wine buyer at Theo Randall/Intercontinental Hotel. He has previously worked at San Sebastian's Arzak, one of Spain's most famous restaurants. The wine list at Theo Randall offers an eclectic choice and includes some of Spain's finest producers in familiar and more obscure regions"With summer on its way, I've selected a Txacoli de Getaria from Bodegas Ameztoi . It's a very refreshing choice and displays a combination of apple and citrus flavours. I also have Albariños and Godellos on the list and they are quite popular; I normally choose light and aromatic whites wines to complement starters.
"As for reds, I've recently discovered Anima Negra from the Balaeric islands.
"Wines from Priorat and the Balearic Islands are full-bodied in style and different to those of Ribera del Duero or Rioja. Tilenos from Bierzo is another interesting wine, and made from the Mencía grape."

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