- Tastes. The Aznar drank wines from Ribera del Duero; Los González, a wine from Jerez
The lack of confidence has made many things clear about the Spanish character. But perhaps the one that comes closest to a universal certainty is that Spanish likes to enjoy and likes to do it with wine. This is demonstrated by the figures of Protos, the oldest winery in the Ribera de Duero designation of origin. According to Expansión published last week, the winery recovered its precovid sales with the lack of confidence. Good news for the wine sector, severely punished by the lack of orders for hotels and restaurants and which now fill the private consumer.
This is how Carlos Villar , CEO of Protos, celebrates it in a cover story with The Other Chronicle . "With the end of the state of alarm and confinement, we have noticed that there is a desire to go out and consume, albeit slowly, since there are personnel from the sector (hospitality, distributors, etc.) still in ERTE, limited capacity for establishments for reasons of prevention and safety, consumer reluctance for sanitary and economic reasons, etc., which make the speed of consumption still not equal to the precovid period. Even so, in June, Bodegas Protos has managed to match the good sales of the previous year ", Explain.
This winery, which was born thanks to the association of 11 farmers who decided to make wine in 1927, has its facilities at the foot of the Peñafiel Castle (Valladolid). Although until now they had their own communication channel on social networks, during the Covid crisis they have strengthened the market for the online purchase of their wines. According to Villar, before the consumer reached them differently, now they have multiplied the sales of their wines tenfold from their website. "If this were to continue like this the rest of the year, we could get closer to marketing close to a million euros online," he confesses. "This is great news since it is likely that although this health crisis will pass, internet sales may have come to to stay and establish itself as an interesting new commercial channel to continue developing. "
Currently, Protos sells 12 different types of wines and with prices from seven euros for a Verdejo to 60 for the Grajo Viejo Selection 2016. This breadth and variety makes the consumer of its wines include almost all kinds of people, including the former Prime Minister, José María Aznar, as revealed in the book La cocina de la Moncloa . "The consumer profile of Protos is 50% of both sexes given the increasing importance of women in the decision to buy and consume quality wines, mostly between the ages of 30 and 55 and middle class, medium-high and high. "
Equally varied are the groups that visit the winery, the most popular on the Ribera de Duero wine route. Those who come to do wine tourism can take a walk through the medieval cellars under the Peñafiel castle and visit the most modern area: the building designed by Sir Richard Rogers. "We have reopened with a more focused visit to the vineyard , open spaces and extra prevention and safety, we have seen that the visits are growing again, helped by more inland tourism that is less crowded and calmer."
Given the good numbers of Protos after the end of the confinement, the winery announced a few weeks ago the donation of bottles of wine to restaurants in the hospitality sector worth 350,000 euros. This helped the sector that is so important to your business, since they represent 70% of its sales.
Carlos Villar, for his part, has lived in confinement and, as it could not be otherwise, he has consumed wine. "I have been finishing stocks my private winery , where I had wines reserved for all occasions. I, as a good wine lover, don't mind giving me the pleasure of opening good bottles with which to accompany and many times extolling everyday moments "he confesses.
With his sights set on sales in the summer months, he encourages the consumer to cool off with the Verdejo or the Protos Claret of the house - "we can put an ice , why not? The wine is made to be enjoyed without rules" - . Also, to use Protos Roble to make summer red.
Lastly, Villar is confident that this year the harvest will be good. Not so much because of the drop in pollution caused by the confinement, but because of the favorable climate for the vineyards. Some vines that after the summer will give the perfect grape to make the wine that has worked best in a pandemic.
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