At the beginning of
the 1990s Francisco Yuste Brioso started out in the world of wine as an
almacenista. What began as a hobby soon became a major part of his business. As a distributor of Pepsi cola,
along with Estrella Galicia beer, he adopted the Pepsi blue as his trademark
colour, and it now appears on all the bodegas he has recuperated over the
years. As a native of Sanlúcar he champions Manzanilla as an important part of
the town’s heritage, and he has fiercely criticised various bodies which form
part of the Denominación de Origen which, in his view, should be independent of
Jerez. He currently owns some 10,000 butts, mostly Manzanilla destined for bulk
sale to horeca. The damages caused by the Fedejerez prohibition of the bag in
box (BIB) is one of the matters raised in this interview, as well as his
exclusive revelation of the existence of an investor for an urban development
project linked to Bodegas Argüeso in Calle Mar.
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| Francisco Yuste in Bodega Miraflores (foto:Blanca Cores) |
The Feria in Sevilla
has recently ended, one of the events where most Manzanilla is sold. Why did
you decide not to participate?
We did participate. In fact there were some
twenty casetas (out of over 1,000) with Manzanilla San León. But what we don’t
do is slash the prices like some bodegas do, so the casetas go looking for a
better price. The last time Argüeso participated we lost 18,000 euros, and we
are not about losing money.
This price war, are
you the only one resisting?
Various bodegas have taken the same decision.
If someone likes San León, let them have it but at the normal price at which it
is sold to horeca all year round. What we can’t do is give away samples, pay
for hostesses and sell at silly prices. You can’t do that.
We are awaiting the
Court’s ruling on BIB. What will it mean for the bodegas if they can’t sell
wine in this container?
Not selling in BIB is a big problem. We sell a
lot of wine in bulk, and are currently selling it in garrafas but the trade
doesn’t like them. The judge who ordered the ban on BIB has no idea of the
damage it is causing the small bodegas. It is totally unjust because the BIB is
better for transport, is more hygienic and keeps the wine in good condition.
And it is more economical.
You have put yourself
forward, or have been put forward, as the defender of BIB yet you also defend
the bottle and the quality it implies which is the Fedejerez argument…
Our bodegas are investing in bottling, in brand
image and in creating more brands, but we also consider it stupid to be opposed
to BIB. It is like opposing cars with round wheels. In a few years we will be
laughing at this opposition to the BIB. What I don’t understand is how the BIB
was banned after a plenary of the Consejo Regulador decided not to go against
the report of the Junta’s Agriculture Department, and the big bodegas went to
court without even sitting down to talk with most of the Manzanilla bodegas. In
other parts of the world 50-60% of wines are being sold in BIB simply because it
preserves the wine much better. In France, which is famous for quality and
image, the figure is at least 38%. The reality is that there is only one gentleman
stubbornly against BIB, but the rest of the big bodegas have to follow suit
because they are selling in BIB.
Your business career
as a bodeguero is characterised by your defence of Manzanilla. Do you believe
that the interests of this unique wine from Sanlúcar are poorly represented?
Manzanilla is not represented in the Consejo
Regulador. Of over 20 members, only one represents Manzanilla and he is
manipulated by the other big bodegas, so that’s why this is happening to us. I
think the Junta de Andalucía should take this into account when it produces the
new Reglamento. It’s not normal that we sell more than 50% of the wine yet the
big bodegas are better represented. We small bodegas of Sanlúcar are lucky to
have Manzanilla, a unique authentic wine but not very well known. But when it
is known there will be a shortage of wine to supply the market, and we will
likely see that happen this year because some will have problems obtaining
mosto since we are selling more and more which will lead to a shortage.
Last year Manzanilla
was ahead in sales on the home market, but not abroad. What strategy is being
adopted to conquer the export markets?
The Sherry they drink in the foreign markets is
mostly Cream or Medium, not what we drink here. We sell Manzanilla and the big
bodegas sell other wines to the export markets. In Spain we are already at
70-30 Manzanilla-Fino, which is enough. We have the home market but we can’t
promote ourselves abroad because promotional funding is controlled by the
Consejo Regulador which is the same as Fedejerez, so we can’t do anything. We
sell wherever we can sell. Until the Government
decides to do something we can’t do anything here. Outside Spain what is
promoted is Sherry, not Manzanilla de Sanlúcar, so it is unknown in many
markets.
Recently the wine
journalist José Peñín visted Argüeso and he said in an interview that Sanlúcar
needed its own DO and to separate itself from Jerez. Do you share his view?
If the big bodegas continue with what they are
doing, Sanlúcar will have no choice but to create its own Consejo Regulador, after
all we already have a DO Manzanilla-Sanlúcar Barrameda, although some bodegas
choose to use the DO Jerez. We cannot be in the hands of the big bodegas; it is
now a question for the competition authorities. They impose the laws and they
control the Consejo, whose vice president is also president of Fedejerez; it is
crazy how they have everything tied up. Finally, and I hope I am wrong, the
competition authority will arrive and there will be new sanctions, which would
be bad for the image. I have the impression that the Consejo is not
independent, it should be keeping an eye on certain bodegas and saying what is
Manzanilla and what is not. They are doing us damage bottling wines which don’t
resemble Manzanilla, and if we had a Consejo in Sanlúcar, they would be
unlikely to reach the market.
What do you mean saying
it is not Manzanilla?
There are two wines: Manzanilla or Fino. Even
in Sanlúcar there are some bodegas which make Fino. Manzanilla is a wine which
has a permanent veil of flor, but in some bodegas the flor is not permanent,
and there is some oxidation. That is the difference.
Do you mean to say that
the controlling bodies are neglecting their duties?
As I see it the controlling bodies are used too
much against us, against the small bodegas - and since this will be published I
can expect three inspections. The BIB affair is a total injustice; we’ll see
who pays for it because there will be damages and losses. I think the battle
will be won sooner or later, but we’ll see who will pay for the damage it is
doing to the small bodegas who are selling much less.
It will soon be a year
since you bought Bodegas Argüeso. How do you assess this acquisition and the
line of business you have undertaken?
Now I have got my teeth into it I would say
that it is the best bodega in the area; one which has the least money but one
which owes the least and is selling ever more. Sales are better than I had expected
and so is the local demand for Argüeso. I am giving the bodega what it needs; a
lot of care and a lot of wine, San León is what is selling, La E also…we are
consistently selling more without cutting prices. We have solved many of the
problems the bodega had since it had been without effective management for some
ten years. The staff are helping a lot despite signing an agreement for a
substantial reduction in salaries, as they are well aware that such salaries
were unsustainable. Everyone is helping to ensure things go well.
You have also
recuperated some brands which were at the point of disappearing like the Pedro
Romero Punto Azul Brandy. Can you also recuperate the essence of these bodegas rather
than a mere business transaction?
For me wine started as a hobby because it was
such a shame to see bodegas closing. What I have done is to buy them and keep
them. I am a great wine collector. I have been lucky enough to be able to
recuperate the great wines these bodegas contained. Now we have the Amontillado
Conde de Aldama, or the Pedro Romero brandies led by Punto Azul… and many other
brands we have recuperated. Carbajo, Los 48, Pedro Romero, Sainz de Baranda…
Now it can no longer be a hobby because we have some 10,000 butts and we have
to start thinking like a wine business, and thus all the things we are doing.
The house you live in,
a former bodega, won the prize for the best mansion house patio in the city…
(Laughs) Yes, yes, since 1989 when I bought
Santa Ana I have been restoring some of the city’s patrimony, but of greater
value is restoring jobs. Thanks to the Yuste companies 250 people are now
working.
You were also talking
about buying some bodega in Jerez. Is anything happening?
We are looking at Jerez because we also need to
sell Fino, so we are looking there. Here we are concentrating on new products
especially in the world of spirits with Limoncello, ponche, products which had lying
been forgotten in the bodegas.
Any projects linked to
wine tourism?
The most important wine tourism project in Sanlúcar
at the moment is in Calle Mar. We want to put more value on the heritage of the
XVI century convent there, creating a musem of the sea, of Manzanilla, it
remains to be seen. Above all we want to conserve the panelled ceilings from
1540 which have been declared of cultural interest. We are looking at it with
the town council and the Junta to see how we can restore the convent’s cloisters,
a real treasure. Each beam there could easily be sold at Sothebys for a million
euros. That is what needs to be restored and what I am doing with the bodega
heritage of Sanlúcar. By selling wine you are selling history, and to sell it
you need to preserve it. That costs a lot of money.
Are you discussing
public finance?
We are trying to get public help but I don’t
know what sort. In fact in Calle Mar there is a project which has been around
for a while which has council and Junta approval and was championed by the
former owners who seem to want to revive it. It is a nice project for a hotel
there which respects all the bodega buildings. There are various companies, but
one above all, which is trying to develop the project, and things are at an
advanced stage for it to go ahead with private capital. Argüeso as owners of
the site, will play their part but companies from elsewhere will do the work.
What do you think of
the latest prizes your wines have won at CINVE?
The prizes and recognition we are receiving
give us great pride and motivation to keep growing. The Argüeso San León, the
Yuste Aurora and La Kika and of course the very old wines of Conde de Aldama
and the Pedro Romero Punto Azul brandy are benchmarks for the highest quality
in the DOs Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Brandy de
Jerez. The best prize of all is to see how every day our client base is growing
in Spain, and of course around the world, in countries like Australia, Mexico,
Japan or the United States, and also in the more traditional markets like the
United Kingdom.
This interview by Cristina Cruz was published
15/5/17 in andalucíainformación.es
