In February 2016, President Obama became the first US president to visit Cuba since 1928. The visit came six months after his government had opened an embassy in Havana, signaling a thaw in relations between the two countries. And in March this year, the Rolling Stones played a free concert that attracted an estimated 400,000 Cubans.
More importantly, travel restrictions between the two countries have been relaxed, and there are signs that trade relations may improve, which has provoked expectations that Cuba’s resorts and tourist destinations will soon be attracting American tourists, bringing plenty of hard currency with them. Which means, potentially, an opportunity to serve them wine.
Research trip
In February, about 100 Californian vintners and winemakers made their way to Havana in a bid to promote Californian wine, on a trip organised by California-based US CAVA Exports (USCE). Founded by Darius Anderson in 2014, USCE is dedicated to helping US-based companies to sell agricultural products to Cuba – including wine.
“The Cuban people are more than ready to embrace wines from California,” said Anderson. “Since my first visit more than two decades ago I have seen the wine culture grow to the point where we are making the first shipments of Golden State wines directly to the sommeliers, chefs and resort managers in Cuba today. The wine demand is there and growing as Cuba evolves into a sustainable wine market for the USA.”
Being able to ship directly will be the key to entry into the Cuban market, according to Anderson and others. The wine choices in Cuba are largely limited to Chilean, Argentine and Spanish labels at present but, according to Steve Burns, co-owner of public relations company O’Donnell Lane LLC, Cubans are eager to learn more about California wines. “It really began in the summer of 2014 when a group of 20 Cuban sommeliers visited California,” Burns said. “Clearly, they went home to Cuba after that trip and ‘talked up’ California and California wines so much so that when we visited in February the interest in our events and tasting was at an almost frenzied pace.”
The Cuban wine market is tiny at present; wine writer and cigar expert James Suckling, who has travelled extensively in Cuba, wrote on havanainsider.com that he believes the wine market may only be worth $10m to $15m in total, and that outlets for wine are limited. Burns said he thinks sales will be small in the beginning, but he also expects “sales to grow exponentially as the hotel-tourist culture grows.
It’s good to remember that Cuba is home to many all-inclusive tourist resorts filled with Canadians, and since Canada is California’s number one export market it’s easy to assume that once they are offered California wines they will buy plenty of it.” He added, “At this point it will be primarily US tourists that come to Cuba followed by a growing segment of Cubans who are making money as independent business owners.”
Vivien Gay, international sales manager for Silver Oak and Twomey Cellars of Napa, agreed that the trip was successful. “Within days of the event I had three inquires from people interested in importing our wines, even at our price level.” She said the primary market would be high-end consumers. “They do exist: hotels, some restaurants, a few retail stores. At that level our competition will be Spanish wines like Vega Sicilia and Pincas.”
Joel Peterson, who helped establish Ravenswood Winery (later sold to Constellation), and who is just releasing his Once & Future Bedrock Vineyard Zinfandel has his eye on Cuba. “I think the prospects for California wine in Cuba are, in the long term, good. There is already some tourism by the Canadians and the Europeans that will only increase as Cuba opens to more people from the US. Having said that it will never be New York City or Los Angeles. It should be compared to other Caribbean destinations; by that comparison it should be a star.” He added that he believed the majority of wine sold there will be in the $10.00 to $15.00 price range.
Asked if California wines faced any special problems in Cuba, he said, “The infrastructure ought to feel familiar to California vintners. The system is the typical three-tier system. The difference is that all the tiers are owned and operated by the government. Obviously the US side of the equation needs to lighten up on the trade barriers with Cuba before there can be any significant selling to Cuba. There are also some credit issues that will have to be resolved.”
Emily Putnam, vice president of international sales for Francis Ford Coppola Wines, said, “We don't foresee any problems as long as the procedure is followed, all paperwork is in order, and the right importer is selected. It may take a bit of time but we have been given the guidance and tools to get started.” She said the focus for Coppola would be on hotels and resorts and some restaurants that cater to tourists.
Michael Parr, vice president, international sales, for Wente Family Estates, said the trip was “an eye-opening experience, a real glimpse into the market potential for the future.” A key element was the anticipation of the US trade embargo being completely lifted soon. “I found Cubans eager to capitalise on more US tourists.” He did, however, add a note of caution. “The current lack of upscale hotel accommodations and fine dining options will be important to overcome before we see more availability of California wines.”
Parr noted that while there are already imported wines in the market, they’re generally low-priced and found in higher-end grocery stores, as well as the paladares restaurants. These restaurants were among the first private enterprises allowed by the Cuban government, to help invigorate the struggling economy. They have been flourishing over the past few years and attract tourists as well as locals that have money to spend, making them the key market for imported wines. Parr also said that the major drink of choice in Cuba at present is rum. “It is served mostly as a Mojito or Cuba Libre. Beer is a distant second. Ideally wine will become a mainstay with dinner followed by a rum cocktail to be enjoyed with some great Cuban music, cigars and dancing.”
One element about the paladares that may shock tourists is the haze of smoke. One participant in the Cuba Symposium, who preferred not to be named, remarked that the wildest thing about the event was that in Cuba cigars are smoked everywhere, even during tastings. “Surprisingly, none of the vintners complained about the smoke.” He added, “Also wild was the entertainment during the tasting, an amazing dance recital with full on loud Cubano music. So fun.”
The Spanish got there first
While Cuba may be a new market for the Californians, it’s an old one for the Spanish, particularly for Bodegas Torres, which has been present on the market since the mid-19th century – and whose wines were served at the recent dinner of President Obama and Raúl Castro. “I’m the fifth generation of the family, but the first generation were these two brothers. One of them, Jaime, decided to go to Cuba and arrived there as a stowaway in 1854,” said Miguel Torres Maczassek, general manager of the Torres Group. “He had no money, so he worked hard and bought a share of a boat that was going from Barcelona to Havana. There he started to trade.” Eventually Jaime met up again with his brother Miguel, who said, ‘I have vineyards.’ And Jaime said, ‘I have money, so why don’t we start a winery?’” That was in 1870. The first export market of the fledgling Torres winery was, not surprisingly, Cuba. “The three towers on the shield of Torres is the shield of the city of Havana, because in those times when you put wine into oak barrels, the barrels had to have the city of destination on them.”
The Torres even had a house in Cuba during the 1940s and 1950s, which they lost, unfortunately, in the revolution. However, the company began trading there again in the 1980s. Today, Torres is the largest wine supplier to the Cuban market. “The market is quite divided,” said Torres Maczassek. “The business with the most potential is the tourist business, as there are many hotels and restaurants that want to have an international style of service.”
As for what the market wants: “Red wines do even better than white wines, surprisingly,” says Torres. “It’s a place where white wine should be fantastic, but our red wines perform better. Our bestselling wine is Sangre de Toro.”
He says that Cuba is likely to become a very important market eventually, given it’s such an attractive destination. “It’s a fantastic place,” he said. “There’s great architecture and things like old cars that are very well preserved. It’s like travelling through time.” What’s even more attractive, he says, is “the Cuban spirit. It’s amazing.”
Felicity Carter
