Jeremy Watson was in the Wine business both in the UK and abroad for over 50 years until he retired last year[2007]. He started as a cellarman, including a spell measuring casks and testing wines with Customs and Excise, then as a Retail Manager, wholesaler and importer before heading up Pengallic Wines Ltd the quality Spanish Wines Specialists trading with all sectors.

He successfully pioneered the concept of supermarkets and other multiple retailers buying their Spanish wine ranges bottled in origin, while also introducing finer wines such as Rioja, Navarra, Penedes and Cava to the market.By 1980 Pengallic held a 20 per cent market share of Spanish wine sales in the UK.

His experience and success with Spanish wines led the Spanish Government to ask him to take charge of their UK wine promotion organisation as Director of Wines from Spain. Seeing another great challenge, between 1982 and 1995 he led a campaign that resulted in a distinct and positive improvement in the perception and acceptance of quality Spanish wines. Indeed Spain's many initiatives opened the door to the invasion of New World wines in the UK. The growth of the value of Spain's wine exports to Britain, and a consequential upsurge in other export markets resulted in Jeremy being awarded the Encomiendaa del Merito Civil by King Juan Carlos I in 1992.

Wanting to change direction in his career he resigned in 1995 and moved to Spain to devote more time to exploring the country, the wine regions and its wines. His frequent travels right across the country during the next 8 years allowed him to make thorough investigations into the growing winemaking revolution and his in depth research meant he became a sought after authority on the subject. His reports on all aspects of the industry were highly valued by his clients and the knowledge led him to writing articles about Spanish wines for various magazines in Spain, the UK and the USA. He also wrote the following books:

• The Wine Rivers of Spain 1997 published by Icex in Madrid in 5 languages - English, Spanish, German, French and Japanese (Out of Print)
• The Wines of the Canary Islands 1999 - 10 wine regions in 5 islands published in the Islands (Out of Print)
• The Wines and Landscapes of Spain - Pavilion, London - published 2000 (Out of Print)
• The New & Classical Wines of Spain - Published by Montagud, Barcelona 2002 English and Spanish versions both still available.

Poor health put a stop to his work in Spain and he and Margaret retired to North Dorset where he pursues an active life, still writing but no longer about wines. There are plans for this site but it will be a short while before the material is ready. In the meantime he has a few copies of The Wines and Landscapes of Spain and anybody wanting a copy of the New and Classical Wines of Spain should contact Jeremy Watson at the email address below.