Big names broaden Germany’s appeal

UK importer Awin Barratt Siegel is planning to introduce a sparkling and bag-in-box Riesling from two of Germany’s most well known and respected producers.

Following an earlier launch in the US, Ernie Loosen’s Dr L brand is due to introduce a sparkling extension for the UK market in time for Christmas. By Easter 2014, ABS hopes to add a bag-in-box Riesling from Rheingau producer Leitz. Both wines will primarily target the multiple retail sector.

In keeping with its core Dr L still wine offer, the Dr L sparkling is made from 100% Mosel Riesling and is off-dry in style with a residual sugar level of 27g/l. The 12% abv non-vintage wine is created by fermention in tanks using the Charmat method and is expected to retail for £12-15.

Although technically a “sekt”, this German term will appear on the back label only, with the front label saying “sparkling” in a bid to appeal to English-speaking consumers in the multiple retail sector.

“Sekt in Germany is huge but we don’t really see it here”, said Kate Dowdeswell, senior national account manager for ABS. She noted that Dr Loosen already produces a sekt under its estate label, which sells through the UK independent sector for around £20 and offers a much drier style at 13.5g/l residual sugar.

Claiming that Dr L is now “the second biggest selling Riesling in the UK after Jacob’s Creek,” Dowdeswell told the drinks business: “Dr L now has the momentum as a brand so we need to create a halo effect from that. It’s such a good entry point for consumers into German wine and they can then go right up from there.”

Turning to the plan to work with Leitz on introducing the UK’s “first premium bag-in-box Riesling”, Dowdeswell noted that the producer already sells in this format to Scandinavia, where consumer packaging perceptions are more open-minded.

While admitting “it’s a bit of a risk” to convince both buyers and consumers in the UK about the merits of this approach, she said: “We’re going to try to tackle that by being the first, by using consumer research and doing it with one of the top Rheingau producers.”

Above all, Dowdeswell stressed the importance of converting UK supermarket buyers, who “err on the side of caution”, to this initiative. “We’ve got to convince the gatekeepers that they’re buying into quality,” she remarked. “Consumers will buy what you offer them.”