Mintel drinks report leads to press outcry
Friday 28 August
Every UK newspaper was filled with scaremongering headlines yesterday about the British drinking too much ‘by stealth’. A new report published by Mintel has brought the topic of alcohol levels to the public eye but as a member of the drinks industry it’s like claiming the world is round is a new revelation- and newsworthy.
The Telegraph reported along the same lines as every other broadsheet and tabloid: ‘Middle-class Britons are drinking too much “by stealth” because they consume alcohol more frequently than other groups and the wine they enjoy is getting stronger’.
The papers were taking their information from Jonny Forsyth, senior drinks analyst at Mintel who, said in a press release, ‘In the 1970s a bottle of wine may have been around 11% in ABV and now the same bottle is more likely to be around 13%.’ What a revelation. I think I’ll take up writing reports and charging.
Forsyth added, ‘It may be that the majority of consumers are not aware of ABV and don’t even notice. So despite a greater societal concern with being healthy leading to a decline in drinking penetration, by stealth we are drinking more pure alcohol than ever.’
Now what’s all this about stealth? I appreciate they probably mean unknowingly but the dictionary describes stealth as cunning or underhand procedure and if you do a search in the thesaurus you’ll find its synonyms are slyness, sneakiness or furtiveness. But who’s being sneaky here? The drinks industry? If it is the industry he’s pointing the finger at for producing drinks higher in alcohol and not being open about it, then I have to take issue with him.
Admittedly alcohol levels in wine have risen, as he describes, thanks in part to better techniques in the vineyard, more efficient yeasts in the winery, possibly global warming and a fashion to leave grapes on the vine for longer to get phenolic ripeness (meaning seed and skin ripeness as well as sugar ripeness). But it’s not like we’ve hidden it – read the label!
Lower alcohol wines are still low on the list of priorities for consumers if you look at Wine Intelligence research. The wine industry is innovating to create lower alcohol wines with earlier picking and alcohol removal technologies amongst other things but demand is still low – perhaps from a lack of awareness of how many units we’re drinking. The industry is getting together to consider the potential of the low alcohol category in October. The public will be a long way behind.
What do consumers really want to drink?
Tuesday 25 August
Are we guilty of not listening to the consumer? Probably, yes. Working in the wine trade every day does tend to take over your life – it’s not just a job – you drink, sleep, breathe the stuff. Inevitably that tends to mean we are removed from the wine-buying public. No matter how many Wine Intelligence studies or in-house market research we read, can we really remember how we felt about buying wine or what we were drinking before we got into the trade? Tricky, isn’t it?
In my last blog, I praised London restaurant L’Anima for putting its wine list in the hands of the twittering public. Great publicity and a great way to involve your customers.
Days later, I’m interviewing Naked Wines boss Rowan Gormley who has come up with the genius (albeit brave) idea of getting his customers to choose the wine. He’s already got his customers, affectionately known as ‘angels’ to do this back in June and aims to do it again in the autumn.
The price of getting Naked
As I explained in my article on decanter.com, Naked will stump up US$100,000 on wine at this year’s Wines of Argentina trade tasting and do the same at Wines of South Africa’s tasting in October.
He’s asking fifty of his ‘most active’ customers to attend the London event. They’ll taste 100 wines and select 10 for the list.
Customer empowerment goes further…the angels then state a price they would be prepared to pay for the selected wines against the prices set by the wineries. The wineries are online – or at the tasting – and see the price comparisons and are able to adjust their prices if they wish. If the customers don’t believe the wine is worth as much as the producer does, the producer can then reduce its price to secure a larger order – or not.
Gormley believes enfranchising the customer is all-important. ‘We have tasted with consumers and if you say Robert Parker has given it this mark or this critic said this it doesn’t mean much but the most powerful view is fellow consumers.’
Is there anybody out there?
Only 50 wines have been submitted by the Argentineans thus far and Gormley expressed surprise and disappointment the response had been lacklustre when there’s such a decent prize at stake. Come on senors and senoritas, get your Argentinean fingers out.
Twitter, facebook and an Italian restaurant
Friday 21 August
The clever people at L’Anima restaurant have come up with the great stunt of getting the world and his wife to vote for new wines on its list.
They’ve enlisted the help of Robert McIntosh, who specialises in social media as well as working for Rioja producer Dinastia Vivanco, to coordinate the event. Six experts including L’Anima’s sommelier and Anthony Rose (my invite must be lost in the post!) will taste a range of wines on Monday. The judges must then argue their case for the wines on youtube for the public to decide. The three wines with the most twitter/facebook votes will then win a place on the restaurant’s list.
This is a great idea. It gets consumers involved in selecting the wines they are going to drink plus gives a sneak peek into the sniffy world of sommeliers.
Oh, and it makes great publicity. I can safely say we’ll see plenty of copycat versions in the coming months.
Here’s the L’Anima link for you to get voting on Tuesday and Wednesday.
New Zealand’s European project
Wednesday 19 August
David Cox has plenty to talk about as European director for New Zealand Winegrowers. He’s just returned from the New Zealand Exporters Forum and has a plan to push Kiwi wines into Europe
Despite monopoly systems in both Norway and Sweden, Cox is keen to drive New Zealand wines into the Scandinavian countries. “I’m big on Scandinavia. They ‘get’ the New World and are hungry for new things like sustainability, organics and new packaging formats,” he said. “That’s what we do best.”
The Scandies love bag in box (BIB) wines – accounting for more than 50% of wine sold in Norway and 65% of wine Sweden – but the New Zealanders aren’t so keen. The packaging has been dogged by an image of low quality but today even Chablis and Sancerre producers are using BIB for these markets. New Zealand has to wake up to this fact. Cox said: “Producers have been put off as it’s a bag-in-box market. It’s not been on New Zealand wineries’ radar. But my strategy is to target the Scandinavian trade talking to importers and the press.”
Germany is also on Cox’s hit list but it must be patient and establish itself as a premium producer – even if it means sacrificing sales. “I have a 10 year plan. We are not even on the map in Germany yet but we have to aim high. I have told our exporters ‘don’t be seduced by distributors who want a six or eight euro wine.’”
The UK and Ireland will continue to take up the greatest slice of his time but it will be interesting to see if the Kiwis can muscle in on the continent.
Zin the next big thing in the Languedoc?
Thursday 13 August
Forget the traditional Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre blends in the Languedoc: the next big thing could be Zinfandel.
Following the EU wine reform, Zinfandel can be planted in the region and one producer has some 17 year-old vines ready to make some burly wines.
Louis Marie Teisserenc of Domaine de L’Arjolle in the Côtes de Thongue area is leading the Zinfandel revolution. He first planted Zin vines in 1992 on an experimental basis after a reconnaissance mission to California. Impressed by its acid retention in Napa’s warm climes, he was sure it could adapt to the Languedoc.
“Our Mediterranean climate is similar to the Californian coast and Napa. Now we are allowed to plant Zinfandel under the vin de France designation, we will plant more.”
There’s plenty of interest in Teisserenc’s Zin planting including Pierre Colbert at Château des Flaugergues so watch this space. Let’s hope they don’t start making White Zin out of it.