WINE

Overview of the market

UK wine consumption has doubled in the last 10 years, and is predicted by some to grow a further 30% over the next 10 years. Average wine consumption per adult (UK) is now over 24 litres per annum, this is less than half that of the adult populations of France, Italy, Portugal or Argentina. This indicates the opportunity for further growth in the UK market.

Consumption of ‘New World’ wines has increased dramatically and Australia is now the biggest producer of wine consumed in the UK with 24% of the market, and boasting 6 of the top 10 wine brands sold in the UK (2004). Wine consumed from the USA and South Africa has also grown substantially over the last 5 years, while French wines (which still account for 19% of the UK market) have seen a decline in popularity.

Wine drinking in pubs

Despite the huge increase in the consumption of wine in the UK, sales of wine in public houses have massively lagged behind this trend. While 8 out of 10 people enjoy a glass of wine, only 2 out of 10 will drink it in a pub, and research suggests that customers are not confident that pubs serve wine professionally or of the right quality, and that staff and licensees generally lack knowledge of wine. Wine is frequently stored incorrectly and is often poorly displayed. Wine choice is also generally very limited with the average pub stocking only 4 types of wine.

Be ‘wine enlightened’

The growing demand for wine does provide licensees who are willing to take wine seriously with an excellent opportunity to build their businesses. With many pubs lagging behind the market, ‘wine-enlightened’ licensees can gain competitive advantage over their rivals. See the section below, ‘Maximising Wines Sales’, for ways to do this.

Grape varieties

Wine is typically categorised by its grape variety (or combination of grape varieties). Here are the more popular grape varieties with details of their main flavour and aroma characteristics:

White grape varieties:

Red grape varieties:

Wine producers of the world

Wine is often described as coming from ‘new world’ or ‘old world’ producers.

New world wine producers include:

• Australia;
• USA;
• South Africa;
• Chile;
• New Zealand.

Old world producers include:

• France;
• Italy;
• Spain;
• Germany.

Wine regions

Many wine-producing countries have distinct regions that specialise in the production of different types of wines with different qualities and flavours. Some of the major producers together with their important wine producing regions are described below:

New world producers

Australia:

• New South Wales.

USA:

• California (Napa Valley).
• Pacific Northwest.

South Africa:

• Distributed throughout the country.

Chile:

• Maipo Valley.

New Zealand:

• 10 main regions located mainly along the coast.

Old world producers

France:

• Burgundy;
• Bordeaux;
• Beaujolais;
• Rhone;
• Loire;
• Alsace;
• Champagne.

Italy:

• Piedmont;
• Valle D’Aosta;
• Alto Adige;
• Veneto;
• Tuscany.

Spain:

• Rioja;
• Catalonia;
• Jerez.

Germany:

• Mosel;
• Rheingau.

Wine terminology

French

Brut – dry (Champagne)
Cru – wine from a high quality vineyard
Sec – dry
Demi-sec – off dry (fairly sweet for Champagne)
Doux – sweet

Italian

Secco – dry
Semisecco – medium dry
Dolce – sweet

Spanish

Seco – dry
Semi-seco – medium dry

German

Trocken – dry
Halbtrocken – off dry
(If not stated, German wines tend to be slightly sweet.)

Many UK supermarkets use simple guidelines to help describe their wines to customers. White wines are numbered 1 to 9 to describe the dryness to sweetness range, with 1 being the driest and 9 being the sweetest. Red wines are displayed with the letters A to E, representing light-bodied through to full-bodied wines.

Wine classifications

Old world producers use well-established wine classifications to denote the quality of their wines. The table below shows the main wine classifications for each of the main producers:

	Special quality wine	Quality wine	Regional wine	Basic wine
France	None specific	AC/AOC	Vin de pays	Vin de table
Italy	DOCG	DOC	IGT	Vino da tavola
Spain	DOC	DO	Vino de Tierra or Vino comarcal	Vino de mesa
Germany	QmP	QbA or VDQS	Landwein	Tafelwein

The USA classification system, American Viticultural Area (AVA), guarantees the geographical region of the wine but not the quality, and similar systems have been adopted by other new world producers.