English Sparkling Wine hits Primetime
Last night’s The Apprentice on the BBC showcased the English sparkling wine industry to around 6 million viewers.
The weekly task challenged teams to come up with a website and online marketing campaign to raise awareness of English sparkling wine in the UK. While the outcome of the task produced two lacklustre campaigns, neither of which completely met the brief, the real winner of the episode was the English sparking wine industry itself.
Without doubt, the subject of the task, sweeping shots of some of the UK’s impressive vineyards, and highlights of wine tasting, will have raised awareness of the industry which is growing in the UK. And it seemed to dominate the twitter sphere for a while as well.
Upcoming UK-based events like the Jubilee and the Olympic games will give many of us a cause to celebrate by raising a glass of bubbly. It is likely that the majority of us will continue to drink the more commonly known Champagne, Prosecco and Cava, but without doubt, this week’s Apprentice will have more of us wondering whether we should be drinking the British equivalent instead. Although no one will be toasting with a glass of ‘Grandeur’, that much is certain.
If you’re in the UK and you missed it, there is still time to catch it on BBC iPlayer.
What can the wine industry expect from Francois Hollande?
Thierry’s Buying Director, Dominique Vrigneau gives his view on the new French President
With the outcome of French presidential election now known, Francois Hollande officially holds the key to the country’s future.
It is possible that a change in president will open up new opportunities for the French wine industry, especially as Hollande is thought to be more supportive of the industry than Sarkozy, his predecessor.
Known for his appreciation of French wine and unafraid to be photographed with a glass of wine in his hand, for those in the wine industry Hollande is a refreshing change from teetotaller Sarkozy. While on the campaign trail, Hollande visited several wine regions and growers and stood out for his interest in listening to what growers have to say. It remains to be seen whether he is open to continuing this dialogue now that he has secured the job.
According to reports, Hollande told industry journal Revue du Vin de France, that ‘like many Frenchmen, I am seduced by the excellence of the wine our country produces. I enjoy wine tasting with friends and family… and I often open a good bottle to celebrate big events.’
Hollande has already declared that he would not repeal the ‘loi Evin’, which strictly regulates the promotion and advertising of alcohol in France. While Hollande fully supports a means of promoting wine as a integral part of a way of life and as a cultural identity for France, it’s likely that any changes he does make in this area will be small and the focus will remain on reducing alcohol consumption and on responsible drinking.
While Hollande has many issues on his agenda, it will be interesting to see how the French Wine Industry decides to communicate with him and how well he responds to its concerns. I do think that the industry now has a better chance to be heard and understood than ever before.
Christian gets the scoop on Sweden
Christian Gilbert, Export Account Manager at Thierry’s updates us on what he’s been doing and what they’re drinking in Sweden.
In times of relative economic gloom there is something refreshing about visiting Scandinavia which seems to have an air of calm invincibility about it.
Supplying wine to Sweden is straightforward, complicated and vastly different from the system we use in the UK. The wine market is a monopoly with around 85% of sales going through the state run ‘Systembolaget’ stores.
Every two months the Systembolaget issues a tender document outlining the wines they would like importers they trade with to submit. This tender will provide lists of grape variety, region, country and price and the supply base will submit
options based on the required specifications. Competition is incredibly high as businesses fiercely pitch for a limited number of slots.
I was struck by a number of things during my visit to Systembolaget:
Fairtrade is important in Sweden with South Africa, Chile and Argentina dominating in this area of the market. Thierry’s own Fairtrade partner ‘Bosman’ features well with major display units in many stores, promoting what I believe is one of the best examples of premium Fairtrade wines in the world.
Low alcohol / alcohol free is hugely popular in Sweden, with an emphasis on marketing these ‘Alkoholfritt’ wines which have less than 0,5% ABV. This category is often populated with wines that are branded to look like they might have been bought from a pharmacy with a prescription from the doctor, but there are a few smart looking products in this range.
A format that has long been a favourite of the Swedish people is the trusty Bag in Box and this shows no signs of slowing down. The interesting thing here is how bag in box is marketed mainly on the basis of lifestyle i.e. good times, outdoors and with friends. The packaging tends to be vibrant and the ‘wine’ element largely ignored on pack.
Much like the UK, eco wines are growing in popularity in Sweden. On-pack stickers, neck collars and labels dedicated to marketing the environmental credentials of the wine or winery, are highly evident and seemeto be popular with shoppers.
Marketing is incredibly important in Sweden. In a market where it is illegal to price promote, producers are clearly using every tool possible to differentiate themselves from their competition and I think the UK market could learn from this.
Banning supermarkets from selling alcohol is not the answer
It’s recently been reported that an Edinburgh-based Sainsbury’s supermarket and two independent retailers have been banned from selling alcohol at their stores following a warning from health officials. The NHS Lothain persuaded the Edinburgh Licensing Board that issuing the licences would work against the protection of public health. For some time now, health boards have been able to object to the issuing of new licenses but this is the first known case of them actually doing so.
An article posted on the Edinburgh Evening News’ online outfit explains:
“Health boards have recently been handed the same powers as police to object to new licenses but this is the first evidence of them being used, representing a huge shift in licensing policy. Edinburgh brought in strict guidelines on overprovision in February, which in itself equates to a near blanket ban on new licences. In the objections to the Sainsbury’s application, NHS Lothian produced a report which showed the Old Town already had among the highest number of alcohol-related hospital admissions in the city.”
Without doubt, the UK drinks industry would like to see the British public drinking to enjoy rather than drinking to excess. In recent years there has been a known shift towards drinking at home, rather than drinking out, this in part has been driven by the ever growing taxation of alcohol and the ongoing economic challenges faced by many households.
More needs to be done to educate consumers about responsible drinking and about making responsible, healthy choices rather than simply restricting licences for retail outlets and increasing the tax paid by the consumer.
Limiting alcohol licences may provide some needed respite for local NHS services, but this needs to work in conjunction with a whole programmed of initiatives aimed at reshaping the UK’s attitude to alcohol and to healthy living. This is only one small step of the many required and in isolation only penalises the many consumers who do choose to drink responsibly.
Wine prices on the rise
The Daily Express recently printed an aritlce titled ‘wine prices to rise by £1 a bottle’.
The online artilce was posted as follows:
“A glass of wine could soon become a luxury too far for drinkers with prices about to increase by £1 a bottle, experts predict. Poor harvests and changes to European agricultural practices have left the wine producers facing rising costs, a new report has warned. And in California vineyards have experienced a drop in fruit production after being hit by cold weather. Italy has also been affected by European Union incentives encouraging producers to remove vines. And exports from Australia and South Africa have been hard hit by exchange rate fluctuations, according to the commodities analysts Mintec.
Wine expert Jamie Goode from Wineanorak.com said: “If it gets too expensive people will stop buying it and start buying other things. “Wine is already one of the most expensive things people put in their shopping trolleys. A rise in the price of wine will see fewer people drinking it.”
Thierry’s Buying Director and wine enthusiast Dominique Vrigneau takes a slightly different view. He said:
“At this stage, I think it is important to note that currently the average bottle of still wine in the UK is still priced at just below £5.00. The proportion of the cost of the wine in the total recommended retail price (RRP) is only 15% with the rest being attributed to duty and VAT amoung other things. Even if there is a price pressure on the wine, its impact on the RRP willl be less than the combined effects of increased duty and vat, worsening exchange rates and in some cases increased margins.”
“If some wines were to increase by £1.00 a bottle it would be due to a combination of all of the above not just in the cost of the wine. We believe that consumers will continue to spend on wine but we’d like to see them buy less on price and more on the contents of the bottle.”
Twitter Feed
- Who was the real winner of last night's Apprentice - fizz or sparkle? http://t.co/5laiBiNr
(about 13 hours ago) - To cork, or not to cork? Fiona Beckett @winematcher gives her view on whether the cork is a thing of the past. http://t.co/U6NyLWb4
(about 1 day ago) - @thierryswine I agree: low impact (loi Evin will remain). And many things depend on UE now. But a Pdt who loves wine is a strong symbol!
(about 3 days ago) - RT @O_Legrand_IR: Rather realistic view: "@thierryswine: Dominique Vrigneau: how the new French President will impact on the industry http://t.co/0eZwdTac"
(about 3 days ago) - Rather realistic view: "@thierryswine: Dominique Vrigneau: how the new French President will impact on the industry http://t.co/0eZwdTac"
(about 3 days ago)