Desoutter & James coming to SITT

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 06 February, 2017

Spanish specialists Desoutter & James are debuting at Harpers' SITT event later this month.

Based in Madrid after launching in September, we spoke to them about their first UK trade event and their strategy for breaking into the UK independent sector.

In an industry often dominated by the loudest voices, the Specialist Importers Trade Tasting (SITT), offers a platform to help boutique wineries and small to medium size importers to reach claim much contested space on the shelves of UK indies.

Matthew Desoutter, co-director of Desoutter & James, whose portfolio consists of 40 wines from 30 small and medium-sized producers, explained: "Spanish wines UK market share has been creeping up in the last couple of years, and while Brexit fallout is clearly going to have an impact on buying decisions it's important to highlight Spain's strong reputation as a reliable supplier of diverse, quality wines at competitive prices.

"SITT is now a well-established event within the wine industry and the independent sector is a key focus for Desoutter & James. It will help us to engage with the right people and showcase our innovative Spanish portfolio to the independents and restaurant buyers. It is important to show the sector how we're different from other suppliers and SITT provides a great opportunity for us to do that."

Desoutter & James will be exhibiting alongside regulars such as Hatch Mansfield, Condor Wines, Moreno Wines and Seckford Agencies, all of which are looking to reach the all-important independent sector.

After their initial launch last year, they are currently aligning themselves with independents, wholesalers and distributors in the UK, with an emphasis diversity.

They took the decision to stay in Spain so that they could be "plugged into" Spain's wine scene and will be offering SITT visitors insights into the Spanish wine sector.

"We welcome anyone looking for Spanish wines with a point of difference or looking to diversify into new regions of Spain," Desoutter added.

"We've seen a revolution in Spanish winemaking and we've been struck by the fact that many exceptional wines from the less established DOs were simply not making it to the UK market. We want to change that and meet like-minded people who are keen to work with us on this."

SITT comes to Manchester on Monday, February 27, and London on Wednesday, March 1.

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