You simply can’t beat Portuguese wines on value and taste, as we found out in last month’s podcast with ITV’s The Wine Show presenter Joe Fattorini who took us through each wine in detail and described them more than once as delicious, while even saying that their white wines would be a good alternative to a white Burgundy for anyone looking to get a quality wine for a reasonable price.
With that in mind, meet Alexis and Claire, the couple behind Lusus Wines. A small, family-run wine importer, they specialise in bringing select, quality Portuguese wines to UK customers.
They supplied Joe and I with some fabulously punchy wines to try, including a Flor de Sao Jose Branco white (described by Joe as “fresh, tangy and bright”) and a Quinta de Sao Jose Touriga Nacional which lends its powerful fruit flavours to the granite soil in which it’s produced.
Below, we find out what motivated Alexis and Claire to set up their business and what to look out for in Portuguese wines, as well as some fun facts about the couple that customers might not otherwise know.
Would you mind introducing yourselves?
Alexis: I’m Alexis. I’m married to Claire and we are Lusus Wines.
Claire: We import Portuguese wines into the UK.
Could you describe what you do as a wine importing business?
A: We select wines that we specifically like, talk to producers and then bring the wines over. We talk also with a group of people within the UK and get them to try the wines. If the consensus is that people like them then we start to consider bringing them on board as well.
C: The idea is to bring wines to the UK that people can’t necessarily already buy in the UK. They might have sampled it on holiday and enjoyed it but can’t get it over here. We want to bring it over so people can enjoy it in their house as well.
What three qualities do you look for in the wines that you choose to bring over to the UK?
A: We look for quality, price and also how it’s produced.
C: In Portugal in particular they have this traditional style of making their wines, through handpicking versus using machines. The vineyards we work with do everything as natural as possible. They enjoy stamping on the grapes with their feet and all that kind of thing.
How did you come up with your company’s name?
A: Lusus is the son of Bacchus and Bacchus is the Roman god of the grape vine. Lusus supposedly founded Lusitania, which later became Portugal.
Could you describe to me the moment when you both said to each other, “Yes, let’s start a wine business.”
C: We were at a Christmas market and we came across a stall where people were selling wines and we suddenly though, why can’t we do this? Why can’t we bring wine over? We talk about our love for wine, we go to Portugal a lot so why can’t we do this? We looked into it and said, let’s go for it.
Can you each share with me one thing which is on your bucket list?
C: I want to go to Disneyland in America.
A: I would like to go to Fiji. It would be amazing to just see the island and chill.
If you could match your wines with a film, which would it be?
C: I love this question because I love films as well. It’s a bit corny but we believe you could match our wines with James Bond. They’re smooth, sophisticated and have a good kick.
You are both married to each other. I would love to know how you met.
A: We met at school. It’s been- actually, don’t ask how many years it’s been.
C: I was 17 when he asked me it and it was actually the final year of sixth form, just before I went to university. We managed to keep the relationship going during university as well.
If you could compare yourselves to a famous couple, who would it be?
A: Brad and Angelina? [laughs]
C: When they were filming Mr and Mrs Smith.
What do you love the most about Portugal?
C: What we love is just sitting on a beach or in a café with a view, with a decent bottle of wine and good food. We’ve been lucky because we’ve met some fantastic family-run vineyards so we’ve been spoilt with great hospitality and proper homecooked food.
What’s your favourite grape?
A: We’d go for Baga. The reason we’d choose Baga is that no one’s really heard of it. It’s a pretty unusual type of grape and when you talk to people about it they get pretty interested in it. It’s a red grape and it’s smooth. It’s been likened to a blanc de noires type of grape.
C: It’s one of the reasons why we got into importing. I tried the sparkling when I was over there and we couldn’t find anything like it at all when we can back home to the UK and that’s one of the reasons why we thought, wow, why don’t we try to bring that over?
Could you recommend a Portuguese dish?
A: We had bacalhau com natas which is salted cod. It’s almost like a fish pie. You’ve got mashed potato over the top with cream underneath and spinach as well and there’s a bit of garlic going through it. They cook it in an oven for probably just a few hours and it’s absolutely delicious. It’s an amazing dish.
For anyone wanting to start their own wine importing business, could you give them three tips?
A: The first one is probably to make sure you know who your customers are. We started quite small. We’re still fairly small to be honest but we started with our friends and family and tested the wines with them and then expanded from there.
C: We learned a lot and found that sales training is a massive thing in finding your ideal client. Once you think about who you want to sell to and what they would like, it then it makes you really consider what you’re bringing across to the UK. The first shipment that we brought across was stuff that we really enjoyed. We didn’t necessarily think about our ideal client over here and obviously, some of it went like that but then we also had stock that didn’t move as quickly until we sorted out our ideal client.
A: The second tip is to make sure you understand what business you want to follow. So if you want to talk business to business or business to customer or both.
C: But the most important thing is to have fun.
Who is the most famous person you have ever met?
A: Bill Bailey. We’ve seen him a few times as his stand up’s absolutely brilliant and a couple of times we’ve waited outside to talk to him.
C: He came out, we had a chat with him, had a drink. It was very cool.
Tell me a fun fact about yourselves.
A: I’ve flown an aeroplane, a small one.
What about you, Claire?
C: When I was younger I used to be an athlete. I used to run for Essex and mid-Essex. Two-hundred metres was my race.
Where is your favourite place to have a glass of wine in London?
A: It’s a restaurant and bar in the West End, Volta do Mar, which is a Portuguese restaurant but it’s got the bar by the side of it as well. They serve really, really good Portuguese wines and also serve really good food as well.
In one sentence, what is the best thing about being in the wine industry?
C: Well, of course, it’s sampling all these fantastic wines and mixing and socialising with people with similar passions.
A: Everyone’s very passionate about what they do, everybody loves it.
What about your worst thing about being in the wine industry?
C: The only thing we’ve come across so far is when people ask what you do and you say, “Oh, well, we import Portuguese wines,” and then they start listing off random wines that they’ve tried and they ask you if you have it. So it’s trying to make them understand that we don’t bring in every single wine from Portugal. It’s frustrating because you want to win customers and help provide them with what they want.
If you could choose one person dead or alive to drink your Portuguese wine range with you, which person would it be?
A: For me it would probably be Joe Fattorini. The main reason is because I know he loves Portugal and I know he’s been there a few times and he likes the wines and the culture there. I think it would be nice to spend a bit of time with him and actually just talk him through the wines.
C: Do you know who else always comes to mind? Someone like Robbie Williams, just to have a laugh with.
What is the most awkward moment you’ve ever encountered as a wine business?
C: What felt quite awkward to me was when we turned up at a fair when we were quite new and everyone seemed to know everybody. We set up a little stall in the corner and once we introduced ourselves it was fine but in the beginning it felt a little awkward.
If money weren’t an issue, which wine would you choose to drink?
A: Petrus 2008. Which is perfect because we got married that year.
C: The romance comes back once in a while!
A: It’s just a mere £2k per bottle at least.
What is the most unusual thing you have ever done in a vineyard?
C: Shall we tell them? [laughs] I suppose we’ve sat in the middle of a vineyard and had lunch.
What are your dreams or goals for the future?
A: We’d really like to see this business start to almost run itself.
C: In terms of expanding and evolving, we’re still quite a young business. Everything’s virtual now. We’ve set everything up and we’ve got these amazing partnerships with people. I think our ultimate dream would be to have everything flowing and working so we could just sit in a hot tub.
To finish off, I would love to know your favourite quote.
A: Life is too short to drink bad wine.
Agreed.
And if you like, you can try the Lusus Wines range, whilst enjoying 10% off with the discount code Sophie10.
I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed by this newly discovered family wine importer, a hidden jewel which has been able to satisfy both my palate and Joe Fattorini's one.
Lusus Wines is definitely one to keep your eye out for.
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