Spain: hunting lions or windmills?
Nicojames
0
comentarios
My daughter will be 3 years old soon. She loves stories , tales and loves singing. I haven't had the chance to tell her about Don Quixote yet. All in good time. She does however love singing a song in Catalán called El lleó no em fa por, perqué sóc bon caçador (I'm not afraid of the lion because I'm a good hunter) and although it's cute to see her sing, this song made me think..
It's been five years now that I have been offering imported wines into the Spanish Market and some still think I'm crazy. How can you import foreign wines, when we have so many good wines here? Even the Germans think I'm a brick short of a load and I'll not mention the anglos around the world I have met who just can't see what I'm doing. Well, there is a market for good quality wines in Spain, the hard part is trying to find the customers for them.
One of the things that gets me in Spain, is the lack of recognition or in some cases teh apparent ignorance when it comes to foreign wines. When I mention that I import wines, the word import seems to be sub-consciously replaced by export. "Oh, so where do you export to?" my answer is: "Well I do some export, but we mainly import wines and distribute some Spanish Wines for the Barcelona region". There is usually a dramatic pause, you can hear the hearts beat and even sense that minds are wondering, even wandering off to somewhere else and then comes that startled look. Oh! So you're importing and competing with our wines? You're the enemy, the bloody foreigner! But what's wrong with that? The trouble is some people don't get it. They think they've tasted all the good white wines in the world and it turns out they've only tried Albariño and some local white supermarket wines. They don't like white wines. Their favourites' are reds.
When they get their tongue around a German Riesling, they go bonkers. Fairplay, it's not everybody's cup of tea, but if residual sugar doesn't tickle their fancy, the Austrian Grüner Veltliner usually does the trick and their flabbergasted. Sometimes you just feel off talking about a champagne to a proud Catalán. But my friends, where is the problem? We're in a global economy, everything we touch is made in China, the grape harvest wouldn't be possible without Estern Block helpers or Marrocans and let's face it, the Catalan, Spanish SEAT is owned by a German company. Where is the problem? Please don't say that Cava is better than Champagne. Please refrain from saying that Spanish wine is the best in the world and that Australia just makes plonk.
Good wine can be made everywhere. Champagne has a longer history, a better name and should not be compared to Cava. Cava is everything that champagne is not. Spanish wines are hot and have their market place, but there are other players in the market that have their space too. Spain needs to concentrate on its strengths and not feel intimidated. Can or should a Priorat compete with Burgundy? I don't think so. For the same reason that Cava, although a sparkling wine, can't compete with Champagne unless we are talking about a less expensive alternative. What about a Riesling? Does it compete with Albariño? I would say no. Most of our clients are those that appreciate good wine and are either not big Albariño or Spanish White Wine drinkers, or they are looking for something more exclusive. It's a different target altogether. And contrary to what many think, most of our customers are Spanish and not foreigners looking for their wines.
I urge all Spaniards to concentrate on their wines and the stengths of them. They are unique. At the same time I appeal to them to open their minds and learn from their foreign counterparts, but not to copy them. Let's start going for the lion´s share and start realizing that all you're seeing are windmills, don't waste your time trying to track them down, they're just an illusion.
It's been five years now that I have been offering imported wines into the Spanish Market and some still think I'm crazy. How can you import foreign wines, when we have so many good wines here? Even the Germans think I'm a brick short of a load and I'll not mention the anglos around the world I have met who just can't see what I'm doing. Well, there is a market for good quality wines in Spain, the hard part is trying to find the customers for them.
One of the things that gets me in Spain, is the lack of recognition or in some cases teh apparent ignorance when it comes to foreign wines. When I mention that I import wines, the word import seems to be sub-consciously replaced by export. "Oh, so where do you export to?" my answer is: "Well I do some export, but we mainly import wines and distribute some Spanish Wines for the Barcelona region". There is usually a dramatic pause, you can hear the hearts beat and even sense that minds are wondering, even wandering off to somewhere else and then comes that startled look. Oh! So you're importing and competing with our wines? You're the enemy, the bloody foreigner! But what's wrong with that? The trouble is some people don't get it. They think they've tasted all the good white wines in the world and it turns out they've only tried Albariño and some local white supermarket wines. They don't like white wines. Their favourites' are reds.
When they get their tongue around a German Riesling, they go bonkers. Fairplay, it's not everybody's cup of tea, but if residual sugar doesn't tickle their fancy, the Austrian Grüner Veltliner usually does the trick and their flabbergasted. Sometimes you just feel off talking about a champagne to a proud Catalán. But my friends, where is the problem? We're in a global economy, everything we touch is made in China, the grape harvest wouldn't be possible without Estern Block helpers or Marrocans and let's face it, the Catalan, Spanish SEAT is owned by a German company. Where is the problem? Please don't say that Cava is better than Champagne. Please refrain from saying that Spanish wine is the best in the world and that Australia just makes plonk.
Good wine can be made everywhere. Champagne has a longer history, a better name and should not be compared to Cava. Cava is everything that champagne is not. Spanish wines are hot and have their market place, but there are other players in the market that have their space too. Spain needs to concentrate on its strengths and not feel intimidated. Can or should a Priorat compete with Burgundy? I don't think so. For the same reason that Cava, although a sparkling wine, can't compete with Champagne unless we are talking about a less expensive alternative. What about a Riesling? Does it compete with Albariño? I would say no. Most of our clients are those that appreciate good wine and are either not big Albariño or Spanish White Wine drinkers, or they are looking for something more exclusive. It's a different target altogether. And contrary to what many think, most of our customers are Spanish and not foreigners looking for their wines.
I urge all Spaniards to concentrate on their wines and the stengths of them. They are unique. At the same time I appeal to them to open their minds and learn from their foreign counterparts, but not to copy them. Let's start going for the lion´s share and start realizing that all you're seeing are windmills, don't waste your time trying to track them down, they're just an illusion.