Spain, Oct 2021 – the launch of Simply Spanish Wine by two Brits on a mission to demystify the wine world and help expats in Spain get access to great wines from small-scale producers around the country.
Spain produces exceptionally good quality wine at more than affordable prices. But it can be difficult for expats to get their head round it all. With around 150 native grape varieties and terms like denominación de origen or carbonic maceration, it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to choosing a wine.
So, two British expats in Spain have taken it on themselves to make the whole thing much easier with the launch of a brand-new online wine store – Simply Spanish Wine.
On the one hand, Simply Spanish Wine offers a carefully curated list of wines for sale which represent the different styles and regions Spain has to offer, and which give wine lovers in Spain access to affordable, high-quality Spanish wines.
But it also acts as a learning resource. Through a series of articles, videos and more, Simply Spanish Wine aims to cut through the clutter and give people a basic understanding of Spanish wine so they can make more informed choices about which wines to buy and enjoy.
The project is the brainchild of Matthew Desoutter and Ben Giddings. They each made their home in Spain many years ago and have been passionate about Spanish wine for just as long. But they realised that it’s not an easy world to get into, especially if you’re a foreign national here who doesn’t yet have a strong grasp of the language.
“When you go into a supermarket, you’re faced with lots of bottles of wine, but very little to help you choose.” Says Matthew Desoutter one the two co-founders. “You can look at the label, but unless you know what to expect from a certain grape, or how one area of the country differs from another, you can’t really make an informed choice.”
“So, we decided to launch an online wine store and Facebook page that make it easier to choose a great bottle of wine. Instead of having a huge selection of mass-produced wines, we offer a focused range of craft wines from family-run vineyards. And our store is built around easy-to-understand resources that help our customers choose a wine that they are going to get the most out of.”
His business associate, Ben Giddings, explains further. “We give people an overview of different grapes, we talk them through the characteristics of wine regions, and we explain a bit about winemaking techniques like barrel ageing. But we try not to go over the top. We don’t want people to feel overwhelmed or talked-down-to. We want to keep it simple – hence the name.”
“And the great thing is, it not only helps people get a better understanding of the wine they’re buying, but we think it also helps people feel more at home here. Five million foreign nationals are currently resident in Spain. By explaining a bit more about Spain’s finest product, we hope we’re helping them to integrate into the culture and feel like they have more of a foothold in this amazing country.”
To find out more about the resources on offer and sample some of Simply Spanish Wine’s fantastic wines, you can visit the website at www.simplyspanishwine.com or follow the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/simplyspanishwine.
The Simply Spanish Wine introductory video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KCY_-jOkU8
Additional videos available on the Simply Spanish Wine YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOsQVlkBB7dMN7jE8v363MQ
