Who are Desoutter & James?

We’re two chaps who are deeply in love with wine and want to share our passion for it with the wider world.

We used to run an online shop called “Simply Spanish Wine” but we recently closed that down to focus on the writing side of our careers. We’ve brought the content from Simply Spanish Wine over to this Substack publication. So, right now things are all a bit skewed towards Spanish wines. But that will change over time as we turn our attention to the wider world.

Until we do, we hope you enjoy a trip through the incredible winemaking country that is Spain. But get ready to grab your map and start a longer journey with us into the wonderful world of wine.

This is us - Ben (left) and Matthew (right). And here’s a bit more about us…

Matthew Desoutter

Matthew first entered the wine world more than 30 years ago, working at Stephen Spurrier’s wonderful Les Caves de la Madeleine wine shop in Paris. He then headed south to Madrid where he spent twenty years at the British Embassy focused on agriculture, environment and economic issues.

During that time, he developed a broad network of friends and contacts across the Spanish wine sector, as well as a deep understanding of the economic links between the UK and Spain. He also continued to develop his love and knowledge of wine through study and regular interaction with Spanish wineries.

Eventually, it became clear where his passions lay so Matthew decided to dedicate himself full-time to the wine world and set up a company to export wine to the UK.

Then along came Brexit.

So he switched focus and launched an online wine shop instead (the aforementioned Simply Spanish Wine), bringing the best of Spanish wine to international residents in Spain. That led to producing a lot of content about Spanish wine and, eventually, writing a book on the subject. Matthew now dedicates his time to writing about wine, and drinking lots of the good stuff.

Ben Giddings

After spending over 20 years working in communications and marketing, Ben is now a freelance content editor, writer and strategist based in Spain. He has been passionate about wine since his 18th birthday when he was given a bottle of St Émilion as a present and began to realise wine could be much more than just a drink to go with Sunday lunch.

But it wasn’t until he arrived in Spain nearly 20 years ago that he discovered the enormous variety of styles that could be found within a bottle. Since then, he has spent his free time travelling and tasting his way around Spain and trying to devour as much knowledge as he does wine.

Why Desoutter & James?

You may have noticed that Matthew’s surname is “Desoutter”, which explains the first part of our name. But where does the “James” come from?

Well, Ben’s middle name is James and we felt that it went better with Desoutter than Giddings did.

“Desoutter & James” sounds like a couple of wise old gentlemen, passing their time admiring bottles in a dusty wine shop with creaking floorboards and a grandfather clock ticking away in the background.

Whereas “Desoutter & Giddings”… well… doesn’t.

So we went with the former.

We may still change it.

Cheers!

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