Oakley Wine Agencies strengthens its Spanish range

By James Bayley

Published: 22 September, 2023

Oakley Wine Agencies (OWA), has added five new Spanish wineries to its portfolio, further solidifying the business as specialists in Iberian wine.

Founded by Nick Oakley in 1990, OWA is known for sourcing wine for UK grocers' private labels and creating bespoke brands for export. The company has 14 exclusive partner wineries in Portugal, and, over the last 10 years, has been looking to actively expand its Spanish range.

Fast-forward to 2023, and the portfolio now covers all of Galicia, including Rías Baixas, Ribeiro, Ribera Sacra, Castilla y Leon, Rueda, Toro, Bierzo, as well as recent additions in Rioja and Ribera del Duero.

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The five latest additions are said to complement the portfolio perfectly, adding Cava Navarra from the north, Bobal and Monastrell specialists from the south and some excellent ‘retail-ready’ brands across Spain.

As a result, OWA has established itself as a one-stop shop for all things Spain and can service private label requests as well as provide ready-to-go, ‘off-the-shelf’ brands.

Nick Oakley, founder and chairman, Oakley Wine Agencies, said: “We have seen a real shift in the wines discussed and tendered for, the large grocers are looking more and more for indigenous, monovarietal wines from lesser-known varietals and intriguing regions of Spain.

“Our on-trade partners are asking for higher quality ‘house wines’ driven by pre-Covid premiumisation and the more recent impacts on cost, that came about during Covid and the conflict in Ukraine. Add to that a demand for natural, organic and more sustainable future-proof wines and packaging.

“It became apparent that we would need to add more strength, depth and versatility to our Spanish range to accommodate these requests and continue our growth as in recent years. We are confident that these five new additions equip us well to serve the UK and Irish on and off-trades.”

The new additions:

Bodegas Marco Real

An 8th-generation winery, Grupo Navarra, specialises in Garnacha, made in the vineyards of the Sonsierra foothills.

Hammeken Cellars

The brainchild of Nicholas Hammeken, a pioneer in modern Spanish winemaking. Their range boasts countless brands from all over Spain, 15 DOs and counting.

Bodegas Illana

The entire Illana family oversees the land at an altitude of 740 meters, the grapes grown here benefit from the higher altitude, and it has been certified as organic since 2021.

Bodegas De Moya

De Moya in Valencia combines the best of both worlds: old vines and almost extinct grape varieties on the one hand and the most modern techniques for making the wine on the other.

Bodegas Del Rosario

The co-op has over 100 years of production experience and a community of over 500 farmers. Its focus on old vines, between 600 & 900 metres altitude, creates concentration, even in its simplest wines.

Bullas has been a wine production area for over 460 years, but only recently (1994) granted D.O status. It has some of the lowest rainfalls in all of Spain and long hot days, with cool nights.

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