Spanish fine wines finding favour across broader demographic, claims wine expert

 Demand for premium Spanish wine is on the up, and expanding beyond the traditional preserve of the on-trade and private collectors.  

This is according to The Wine Show’s Joe Fattorini, who said there had been something of a “cultural shift” as a result of the increasing popularity of Spainsh cuisine and the country’s fine wines moving into non-Spanish restaurant territory.    

“Traditionally, Spanish blue chips were the exclusive domaine of enthusiasts and Spanish restaurants,” Fattorini, who is also head of London sales at Fields Morris & Verdin, told Drinks Business.   “However, I’m delighted to say that the demand for high-end Spanish labels has made a leap into the mainstream."

According to Fattorini, an increasing number of London’s top restaurants, bars and hotels such as Quo Vadis, the Connaught and the Dorchester are expanding their Spanish fine wine range.  

But Jeroboam’s wine director Peter Mitchell MW says that traditional and more affordable Spanish wines still engenders strong loyalty amongst consumers.

“We have stocked various expensive ‘modern’ styles of Rioja, often labelled outside of the traditional ageing classifications and they have not sold well,” he said.   “The wines of Artadi for example are wonderful, if expensive, and garner high scores, but demand remains negligible. Rioja buyers like the traditional styles and tend to ask for it."