A wine and a letter. The approach with which the project called Wine Alphabet brings the universe of tastings and knowledge of the wine world to the public is an immersion in the creativity of Nika Shevela and Paul-Simon Geddis (also current head of content for the Sónar music festival). , responsible for this initiative as creators of content and experiences, where the protagonist is the wine.
For example, to read this article, they propose: "A letter? The G”. A wine? “Grenache , definitely! We are big fans of Garnachas de Gredos like those of our friends Silvia and Kike de Cható Gañán, for example”. And what do we eat with it? "A good Gazpacho for summer seasons (Nika makes a killer cherry gazpacho) or gnocchi for more winter times (that is already Paul's domain, who loves to add a little guanciale)”. And what do we listen to while we read and drink? “To the queen of electro-pop Grimes and hers was a great song from her Oblivion ”.
Based in Barcelona, they have been organizing events for different brands since 2017, exploring the world of natural wines with experiences and itinerant tastings, but with a very particular approach: that of get out of old fashioned schemes and face them with a fresh vision through the alphabet to discover wine letter by letter . As in the series P for pairing (M for Pairings), in which they collaborate with characters such as Oriana Abzueta, from Metl; Jenny from Banh Mi Barcelona; or Laura Veraguas to link certain references to different flavors, dishes and harmonies.
Both partners live in Barcelona, but Nika was born in Russia and lived for many years in Castellón , while Paul was born in the UK and lived in Madrid while working as a founding partner of Vice . Therefore, they both have a local vision of wine –they have lived in Spain for half their lives– but with a able to communicate with other cultures.
“First of all, an important point is that we communicate in english , not to exclude but knowing that the local public would approach us because they are looking for an international approach or a more global point of view, such as B2B clients or companies that may be importers outside of Spain or in the United Kingdom; as well as CodeOp+Bumble , the first social network for women that offers inclusive training for women who want to start in the world of technology".
Tasting wines at one of the Wine Alphabet events.
Since the pandemic, Wine Alphabet has taken an almost resounding turn by becoming a more digital platform . "More than half of the actions we do now are done online," explains Nika, referring to her tastings, courses (F de France –a course that revolves around the quintessential wine country–), a series of private dinners– or ideas like Supernatural, where they recreate the club atmosphere in hotels –such as Sir Victor, in Barcelona– or bars but with a list of natural or low intervention wines, as well as various dynamics of team building or wine selector service , with which they make a selection of wines made by women and produced in a sustainable way.
"During the pandemic everyone started drinking wine and everyone was working remotely, so we saw that there was a gap for this type of project with a different approach”, she emphasizes.
Nika riding one of her tastings.
The differentiating point of Wine Alphabet is that Nika and Paul go beyond the classic formats to communicate wine by creating different concepts that are allied with different personalities and wineries . This is how they devised a series of interviews via Instagram with women from the world of wine, collaborations with chefs for live cooking or events such as a barre fit class followed by a wine tasting that fit the occasion.
“Music and gastronomy are always an important part of what we do, but the side of the women in wine has been in the project from the beginning”, explains Nika, who in parallel to Wine Alphabet has created a group of women dedicated to the world of wine with which outings and meetings are organized.
“With the pandemic I realized that it was precisely the women who were being affected the most, so we wanted to give them more presence in our actions. Taking care of the children, being at home, working… it was all at once” she comments.
Now, with confinement like a distant mirage, what Nika seeks is to explore the real female presence but in the world of non-liquid gastronomy . "For them we are with a project with the photographic duo Leafhopper, going 'letter by letter' with the women of gastronomy.
Natural wines are usually the protagonists of Wine Alphabet projects.
“We've grown tired of the 'attention economy and Instagram',” the couple says. “We have noticed that there are many accounts related to wine that they objectify women in a way to win engagement , without going further. That is why we want to create real content that is interesting, with interviews and lasting information. Not a mere Instagram post. The same with wine, there are many wine accounts that show you their cellars and bottles, but we must go further and take this opportunity to count things. We want to put a focus on real stories and collaborate in this sense with the decline of the influencer."
Although from Wine Alphabet they do all kinds of experiences with different types of wineries, natural wines are the ones that most capture their attention . “Barcelona has been changing over the years. When I started I went to small neighborhood wineries to ask and buy wines on tap. Suddenly it all got to the point where most bars sold natural wines . The minimally known bars… they all have naturals”.
Paul, on the other hand, comments that, by always being in contact with what happens in the cultural field of the city and the people who promote it, it was through characters like the Colombo brothers (from Xemei restaurant) , as it began in the world of wines.
“The adjacent culture like the one promoted through a restaurant like Xemei has been a great reference for culture and night, for people who work in between. They have brought natural wine closer to people like me”, says Geddis. “Due to its size and connections, it is very easy to enter a scene in Barcelona such as that of natural wines and sow opportunities”.
Offering a different point of view is what interests them but with an inclusive approach . “I believe that it is our duty to communicate wine and that people value it and find it interesting through your stories , without having to be professionals".
"Paul loves to discover things that people don't know yet, those stories that no one has put on their radar yet," adds Nika. "It happened to us with a Sierra de Gredos winery a couple of years ago, for example. No one knew about them and we managed to get them included in some restaurant menus. Same with Chato Ganan, some brutal wines".
And who are some of those characters that captivate you right now with their adventures? I believe that very cool things are being done in Penedés , with many changes in bubbles, interesting things are happening with sparkling wines. But also in the Sierra de Gredos, in Madrid and Ávila, natural wines are flowing," adds Nika, who has begun to delve beyond grapes.
"Am discovering the past of wine through colonization and how the church wanted to bring the vine to the new world”, she recounts. “That is why we now ask ourselves: what would happen if colonization were the other way around? There are many plants that are not vines, fermented agave, fruit wines that are not grapes, different types of ciders, now there are fruit pet nat... It is to start with the de-Europeanization, that is not all grapes and classic varieties”.
Wine Alphabet
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