‘CONNECTING wine, places and people’ is the ethos of Iberian Wine Tours and the wine aficionados behind it.
Based in Saintfield, Co Down, managing director Jeremy Shaw and business development manager Simon McGookin have turned their passion for vino into a thriving business, crafting tailor-made wine tours for fellow enthusiasts since 2010.
“There’s a whole community that’s been built up through our tours,” Simon explains.
Typically a trip will cater for groups of 10-20 people and aim to be a fun, educational but informal experience for those who enjoy travel, meeting new people and of course the odd tipple.
“A lot of the people who have done a tour with us have all now become friends and they’ll go and visit each other or go on holidays together - there’s a whole network that’s just come from our wee trips.”
Simon he believes his interest and subsequent passion for wine began when he moved to Australia as a teenager.
“I was 18 or 19 when I went out to Australia, and I would visit places like Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in South Australia, and I was just mesmerised.
“Coming from Northern Ireland in those days I hardly ever would’ve had a glass of wine so going to different vineyards and tasting all these amazing wines was a revelation.”
Following his passion, Simon went on to successfully complete his Level 3 WSET (wine and spirits education trust) advanced certificate in wines and spirits. This ultimately led him to Iberian Wine Tours where he now works closely with Jeremy and his wife/operational director Marisa Espeso in overseeing the growth of the company.
“You always dream of doing something that you’re interested in so the fact I’ve been able to make a career out of my passion has been amazing.
“It’s hard to believe we’re celebrating our 15th anniversary in March of next year - we’re already planning a special tour to the south of England to celebrate,” Simon enthuses.
However, for those who prefer to venture slightly further afield, the company also offers tours to the likes of Spain, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, France, Italy and Greece - some which have been inspired by Simon’s own adventures.
“What happens a lot of the time is our holidays become the next tour.
“My wife and I just took a trip to Slovenia and Croatia which was a holiday, but it was a bit like a bus man’s holiday for us because I always arrange a few wines-inspired visits – I find it quite hard to switch off,” he laughs.
In addition to its range of diverse destinations Iberian Wine Tours is also unique in its approach to wine.
“Style is something that’s really important to us,” Simon describes.
“We tend to keep it light-hearted and try and bring a bit of that Northern Irish charm into it to keep it fun.
“I think sometimes people think wine tours are quite snobby and highfalutin, but they don’t have to be.
“We go to the best places and open the right doors for people, but it’s done in a way where people don’t feel intimidated, and they can enjoy the craic and have a laugh as well.
“And that tends to be the feedback that we get - that the quality is super-high but there’s a sense of cameraderie there as well.
“We’ve been very lucky that for whatever reason the tours seem to attract really wonderful and like-minded people over and over again.”
We go to the best places and open the right doors for people, but it’s done in a way where people don’t feel intimidated, and they can enjoy the craic and have a laugh as well
— Simon McGookin
Coming into the colder months, Simon and the rest of the Iberian Wine Tours team have a vast array of tours on offer for wine connoisseurs of various vintages, most notably a trip to Spain’s Basque region stopping at Rioja and San Sebastian.
“The Basque country is an area that we’ve been going to for many years now and we’ve put a really good tour together,” says Simon.
Beginning and ending in Bilbao the tour will visit Rioja, one of the world’s foremost wine regions with harvest time providing a prime opportunity to experience the region, followed by a trip to the elegant city of San Sebastian.
Along the way they will also taste some of the best old and new styles of wine in several of the best wineries. Riojan gastronomy is also highly prized, so it would be rude not to try some traditional and Michelin-star delicacies.
“There’s some really amazing visits on the tour, we’re going to have private lunch at the Marques de Murrieta which is one of the big names in Rioja which is incredible,” Simon continues.
“But we try and do contrasts as well, so on the same day you go to Marques de Murrieta you’ll also visit Paco Garcia which is a younger more innovative Rioja producer.
“It’s a great tour, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
