How can we encourage people to give English wine a chance?

Question

I'm asking a question on Yahoo! Answers as part of English Wine Week. For more information, read the Yahoo! Answers blog: http://uk.blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-qT1KKPQoRKdVT4lowpJCljbFokkuIzI8?p=2170

Answer 1

I work in the wine trade for a major retailer, so I hope the following comes across with some realistic thoughts behind it.

Giving away bottles of English wine for free will not work - production volumes are so small here. For example, Sancerre is a region of France that makes pricey whites from the Sauvignon Blanc grape. It has 2,500 hectares of vineyards (which is tiny, on the world stage) and none of the wines hit shelves here at less than £8, most are £10+.

In England, we have over 300 vineyards but only in the region of 940 hectares of vines. 250 of those are owned by Nyetimber - a now-famous English sparkling wine.

This level of production does not help lower costs, producing wine alltogether is not cheap in England and our taxes and duty are prohibitively high.

As a result, English wine sells for around £6 plus, more often than not.

Solutions...
New Zealand was first planted with odd German grape varieties that were thought to suit the cool climate there. Luckily, most were thrown out and they have made huge progress with more famous grape varieties.

England needs research into what grapes we can grow here in 5 years time. They need to be planted now in order to mature (which usually takes 3 years or so). Then, with changing temperatures we might well be able to have 'English Sauvignon Blanc' or 'English Chardonnay' - names of grapes that people recognise from Australia and New Zealand (if not elsewhere).

This would then put English wine on a good footing with regards to image - getting on with the 'grown up world' with 'grown up grapes' - not as many of the truly odd and unpronounceable named types we have here now (which are often needed because our climate is so cool).

Tax breaks for the production of local goods will be introduced at some stage, as part of plans to cut down carbon emissions (wine miles are big business nowadays). This will, ideally, increase the profitability of winemaking in England - and then we can compete.

In the meantime, it's a tough challenge to encourage people to give English wine a chance - it needs the Steven Spurriers of the world to start making wine over here (as he plans to), to bring fame and expertise. It needs vineyard research into how we can make the best of this awkward climate. It needs proper grape varieties - the likes of which are being used in the increasingly popular sparkling wines we make. It needs tax breaks.

Answer 2

The trouble is that English wines were not very good in the past, and tended to be a bit acidic. Now they are improving especially as the grapes are ripening better with our climate now.

I think too, and more importantly, is that the supermarkets, and off licences need to be more educated in promoting our English wines, rather than pushing all the mountains of bottles of French and Italian wines. When the English people really discover how good our home grown wines are then perhaps the French won't have such a monopoly, and the English can have a fair share of the market.

It is all in the marketing of the English growers. Perhaps they need to advertise themselves more, and perhaps they could get together with the supermarkets and have a tasting sessions instore, just like the local food producers are doing.
I tried some delicious melt in the mouth steak two weeks ago, but if the supermarket had not had the producer instore promoting it, I would never had known about it.

Our homegrown products are second to none, and have been depleted somewhat in the last twenty years by the onslaught of the EU dictates. Lets go back to having our delicious food and wines, and thumb our noses to some of the inferior imports that are coming into our Country.

Answer 3

How about running a course for Brits on how to appreciate a good wine, what to look for etc. Most Brits that come over here to the Languedoc region of the South of France are very good at guzzling the wine down by the bottlefull but most have not a clue as to what it is they are or should be looking for in a wine. As an example I recently opened a bottle of wine over here for some friends including a British couple. The wine was slightly oxidized; not bad enough to make it totally undrinkable (no one here would have touched it) but bad enough that the smell immediately gave it away. The bottle was put to one side (to use later in Vinegar making) and other opened, this time a good one. Later the Brits had finished the good wine and I noticed picked up the "corked" (I believe is the British term) bottle which they were drinking extolling its qualities!! If you can teach people what they are looking for......then the battle is half won....all about education and the English could do with educating with regard to wine. It's not difficult but it is pretty basic to understanding wine.

Answer 4

We recently organised a local food and wine evening at the superb Summertown Wine Cafe in Oxford (check out the website). People love the idea of local food so why not wine?
It was a real success and we sold several cases of local wine.
We also offer wine tasting. This is a sure fire way to get people to give it a go. If they like it they will buy it. The person giving the tasting should decide whether this person is likely to be put off by the idea of English wine (in which case don't tell them where it's from until they've told you what they think), or whether they will be encouraged by it area of origin (in which case let them know that they are about to taste a great english wine.
I don't agree that english wine should have a different tax status from other wine. The UK is the best country in the world to buy wine as we treat them all equally, we have no local agenda to push, so we get the best from all over the world. Surely what we really want it great wine, no matter where it is from.

Answer 5

The big problem you have is cost. Until you can get the price down you will be unable to compete with the imported stuff at the cheap end of the market.
If you want to take more of the specialist market do some blind tasting and run some big advertising campaigns in the Sunday supplements and make people aware of the awards won by English wines.
When I lived in Hastings Carr Taylor made a quality sparkling wine (champagne) which won medals in France most years but people would rather buy Asti and the like as they had no knowledge of English wine.
Hope you can come up with a plan as with the changing climate I am sure the vineyards will be producing greater quantities of grapes.

Answer 6

Take advantage of the fact the two words, English wine, are not usually found right next to each. The phrase produces a surprise and that surprise holds the attention of the market. Now that you have their attention, you can tell the story -- which is probably that England has some regions that experience ideal growing conditions for certain species of grapes. Those grapes produce flavors (perhaps) that can not be experienced by French and Spanish wine drinkers. If true, you can exploit the various competencies of the vintners who oversee the production of the wines. If UK wine is less expensive than its equivalent on the mainland, go with that. Keep in mind: English gourmet cuisine USED to be a joke. Today, there are many, many fine restaurants in London.

Answer 7

I think there are some inherent problems with English wine:

1. its past image
2. its current price

I looked for English wine just a few weeks ago and couldn't find a bottle for under £9 - that could be due to the supermarket I was in (Waitrose), I don't know.

I believe that the English wines which are now on the market are better quality, but they are also higher priced as a result. If English wine wants to appeal to a wider consumer base it must make itself more accessible, in its marketing and most importantly its pricing. There is too much good/if not superior competition out there for a few pounds less a bottle. The vineyards over here need to start being more competitive, unless they want to only sell to the upper income earners and keep the market small and unique. But perhaps that is exactly the focus - after all restaurants in London generally put extortionate mark ups on wine.

We are big wine buffs and tend to pay around £5-9 a bottle, occasionally more ( I guess we represent an average couple in London) - but paying £9 for an English wine that I cannot try beforehand is a no go area for me. So for me - reduce the price, market it so that tasters are commonplace (as they do in all the supermarkets in France) and you might just tempt me.

Incidently I used to live near to Carr Taylor Vineyards in Sussex and did used to buy their wine, but even theirs was so expensive when I last looked.

Answer 8

I have tried English wine and yes I liked it.

Since you posted your question I have been asking myself why don't I drink English wines more often, considering that I do make an effort to buy British fruit, veg and cheeses wherever I can . I do this in order to support British growers and producers rather than a bid to reduce 'food miles'.

However like many shoppers I buy what is available and reasonably priced. If the major supermarkets were to make an effort to promote locally grown wines (there are Welsh ones as well as English) in the same aggressive manner that some New World wines are, then the bottle in my fridge would be English and not Australian.

So if you want me to buy it, tell the supermarkets to put it on the aisle ends where I will give it a try.

Answer 9

I would start with a full-on marketing campaign. Get some celebrities on-side too. People do tend to follow, so if they see that their favourites actors, singers and footballers like a bit of English wine, then they will try it!

I am not too far from Denbies Vineyard, which is one of the top English wine producers, and have tasted their wines. I must say that I was impressed, but they do tend to be more expensive than the mass produced foreign alternatives. I know that this is because of the volumes produced, but it really doesn't help when somebody has £5 to spend on wine and they know they can get an OK Aussie for that price.

Answer 10

I work for an independent specialist food and gifts store in Devon. We are doing wine samplings with representatives from local vineyards coming into the store this week and it working well. People love the wines, but it is the high prices that put them off and stop them buying reguarly. We sell wines from 6 different Devon vineyards and one Sussex vineyard. There are actually 11 or 12 Devon vineyards. Most of the English wines come to us at a very high trade price, the vineyards simply can't produce good quality cheaply enough, so with VAT and a little something on top for us (but not much to be totally honest!) it prices many people out. I am a big fan of the local wines, and I do really recommend them. My favourite Devon poducer is Pebblebed, they produce a white and a rose and have won numerous awards. Aloso there is a new vineyard that opened 1st May, Kenton. The white wine is set to be a best seller but I love their rose best, it is unusually dry for a rose. We are launching an online store next week which will allow people to buy the wines over the internet for courier delivery - check it out on mon - www.joshuasharveststore.co.uk. Generally I agree that to sell more English wine and raise the popularity you need to a, keep shouting about it and publicise it, b, convert people by allowing trials and c, we need to find ways for vineyards to reduce cost without compromising quality.

Answer 11

But there is an English wine! I never knew that there are any vineyards in England but for sure i saw grapes growing for wine in France,Italy, in the Mediterranean basin as well in California, in some countries in S America,Australia and also China.Grapes need not only the right soil but also the sun!and above all the country that produces good wine must have the culture of wine that takes century to build!so i Wonder if i give English wine a chance