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‘Make the Americas’ is much more than a catchphrase for Jesus Martinez Bujanda, CEO of
Valdemar Family and head of ‘Valdemar Estates‘. Fifth generation of a family of winemakers from La Rioja Alavesa, which began its oenological activity in 1889 and created Bodegas Valdemar in the 80s, since 2018 has run the first non-American and Spanish winery in Walla Walla in the state of Washington (United States). ). With the only precedent of ‘Marimar Estate’ in California, he has just received his doctorate in the eyes of the specialized press after being the only European -and Spanish- to be part of the list of specialists in wine and spirits under 40 years of age (‘tastemakers’ ) of the specialized publication
‘Wine Enthusiast‘.
For Martínez it represents “A recognition of the work of the entire team over the years” and acknowledges that it has made him “very excited since it gives value to young people, which has generated an impact in the sector.” In his case, ‘Valdemar Estates’ also has a restaurant where, apart from the wines he harvests in Walla Walla, he offers other wines from the Rioja Denomination of Origin andOther Spanish products such as olive oil, piquillo peppers or a selection of Iberian products. But what led this young winemaker to cross the pond three years ago? He acknowledges that they were looking for investment opportunities in various regions of Spain, until they considered going abroad. “I studied part of my career at the University of Washington here in Washingron state and I knew there was a very promising wine industry »says this young winemaker who traveled to the area with his father and sister. “The truth is that we fell in love immediately,” he added about a region where they became the first non-American winery and the first Spanish in the area. Besides being the first 100% inclusive and accessible for any disability. “Thanks to this unique wine tourism proposal, we have managed to position ourselves as one of the leading wineries in the area,” he sums up.
After investing up $ 15 million (about 12.63 million euros) the dream came true. It was April 27, 2018 and Jesús Martínez began to make wine 10,000 kilometers from Spain and with a nine-hour time difference. «I hope that other wineries are encouraged to take the step in the future, I think there are many opportunities for Spanish wineries in the United States », he assures.
The US market happens to be the great showcase outside Europe for our agri-food products. As estimated by the ICEX in a recent study, the United States is the first wine consuming country in the world with 3,126 million liters (2019) and a market value of approximately $ 13,815 million. Of which a third of the volume consumed is imported, mainly from Italy and France, while American wine is produced almost entirely in California. Spain has a market share that would be around 5.8% and we would have direct competition in New Zealand, Australia, Argentina or Chile.
Regarding the American consumer, Martínez points out that in the case of wine «for the American customer if the product has quality and a story behind, the price goes to a third place of importance ». In this regard, it acknowledges that prices have risen “significantly” and that in the United States they prioritize sales of Reserva, Gran Reserva and vineyard wines. For this reason, it is committed to Spanish exporters turning to «Sell products with more added value instead of focusing on the economic segments. ” In his opinion, Spain has no way to “improve” its position in the United States since, despite the quality of our wines, “we have not been able to position them in the market and put them in value”.
Even though it is Napa Valley (California) who gets the fame, Walla Walla, which borders Oregon, is also a wine region: «Our best allies have been the rest of the wineries, everyone has turned to help us in everything », point from the other side of the phone. For example, he mentions that currently other neighboring wineries sell them some of their best grapes as a way of helping them. “That would be unthinkable in Europe,” he shoots.
Currently ‘Valdemar Estates’ has among its clients the distributor Costco, whose headquarters are also in the state of Washington, which distributes the wines of this winery through its subsidiaries in Mexico, China and Spain. They also have agreements with university centers. His immediate challenge to invest a million dollars in the opening of a new ‘tasting room’ and another restaurant in the town of Woodinville, a town near Seatlle.
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