Promoting Diversity & Personality w/ María del Yerro and Enrique Valero, Grandes Pagos de España

XChateau Wine Podcast

With the aim of safeguarding the wines of personality from special vineyards (or “pagos”) from across Spain, the Grandes Pagos de España is a private group of wineries on the forefront of Spanish wine. President María del Yerro, of Alonso del Yerro, and VP Enrique Valero, CEO of Abadía Retuerta, discuss the history, objectives, how to join, and their new Terroir Workshop Series.

Detailed Show Notes:

María’s background - was a translator, husband took over family winery in Rioja, 2002 - bought a 56ha vineyard and started Alonso del Yerro

Enrique’s background - worked at Diageo and Gonzales Byass, became CEO of Abadía Retuerta

Grandes Pagos de España (“GPE”) history

• 2000 - 5 wineries established Grand Pagos de Castilla
• 2003 - included other wineries from Spain and renamed to GPE
• 35 wineries, all single vineyards
• Pago is defined like “terroir”, a vineyard with different characteristics
• Common Goal: produce exceptional wines that reflect unique terroir
• Inspired by VDP and French concept of Grand Cru, but adapted to Spanish context

Goals & Objectives of GPE

• Promote and safeguard “diversity and personality” of wines
• Foster research and innovation
• Conduct educational and promotional activities

Criteria for joining

• Most wineries apply to be a member
• Criteria - single vineyard, 100% estate fruit, min 5 years of internationally recognized quality, must pass internal tasting committee that assesses the personality of the vineyard
• Most vineyards ~50-75ha
• Some wineries may produce wines that are not Grand Pagos

Member benefits and requirements

• Fees based on quota system by # of bottles produced (3 levels - <40k, 40-150k, >150k bottles), no winery is >500k bottles
• Networking w/ other wineries; e.g. - winemakers meet 2x / year to share learnings
• Promotion of wines domestically & internationally (e.g. - wine fairs, education)
• No logo on label

Priority markets

• Spain is the primary market
• 4 international focuses - USA (include for broader influence of press and blogs), Mexico, UK, Switzerland

GPE wines at least 4-5x more expensive than avg price of Spanish wine (~$40-300/bottle in the US)

Wine tourism program - many GPE wineries will showcase other GPE wineries in their tastings

KPIs for GPE include # of people at events, PR/comms results, results of last 10 years of new applicant tastings

Marketing GPE

• Building CRM of trade / sommeliers from tastings to keep in touch
• Partner w/ wine influencers, somms, other associations
• Highest impact initiatives: US - big tastings; Spain - tastings w/ somms

Launching a new Terroir Workshop Series

• Main push for the next 3-5 years
• Global education program for concept of pagos and 35 GPE wineries
• Starting in US, Mexico
• 3 brand ambassadors chosen and trained - help bring a 3rd party voice and local perspective on GPE
• Partnered w/ Gregory + Vine - helped clarify messaging and identified brand ambassadors
• Designed primarily for wine trade

Next priorities for GPE

• Climate change
• Global competition - need to maintain a high reputation
• Sustainability and social responsibility

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