Spanish wines ‘lack identity’ in Asia

Wine drinkers in Asia still favour Bordeaux over Spanish wine but it’s only a question of time before the switch happens, believes Pablo Alvarez of Vega Sicilia.

“Our Asia market is really growing” said Pablo Alvarez, director of Vega Sicilia. “Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong are our chief areas of focus and in the 25 years we started exporting to Asia, the wine culture has changed so much.

“In the beginning no one drank wine at all, you’d go to bars and restaurants in Hong Kong and Singapore and just see Cognac, Cognac, Cognac. I think the English in Hong Kong started wine drinking in the 1970s and they liked French wine above all, which paved the way for everyone else.”

Vega Siclia, coined ‘Spain’s First Growth’ by Hugh Johnson – who also likened the Rivera del Duero estate to “Latour; but Latour of a vintage that has raisined the grapes and fried the picking crews” – is substantially cheaper than its French counterparts but Alvarez pointed out that Spanish wine, even premium Spanish wine has a long way to go to gain wider acceptance.

“It is a pity about Spain, consumers don’t recognize the labels in the way they do with French wine, and they don’t know much about the country, the regions or grape varieties. We do lack identity here, we know how to produce very good wine but consumers do not change their tastes overnight. It is only a question of time though and we are here now! So this is a very good sign.”

The Alvarez family bought Vega Siclia in 1982 and today the family owns the Alion and Vega-Sicila vineyards in the Ribera del Duero, Pintia in Toro and Tokaj-Oremus in Tokaj . In the beginning Vega only exported 10% of its production to four countries but now it’s over 50% to 110 markets – a fact that Alvarez is very proud of for “getting Spanish wine out into the world.”

A newish venture also involves attempting to make a white wine in its Rioja vineyard in Macan after many years of experimentation and it’s a project that Alvarez is very keen to see bear fruit.

“I love white wine,” he said emphatically. “And I don’t understand why in Spain you cannot find a good white wine. We’ve been playing around with Rousanne, Marsanne and Biognier for several years but the clone and soil type just didn’t match.

“Javier (Ausas, the winemaker) and I will attempt something in Rioja, and in the future we will have a very good white wine from Spain.”