Chris Orr comments on… Wines Of South Africa Mega Tasting

Wandered around the South African tasting yesterday. Bloody hell it’s big. Over 280 producers and apparently over 3,200 wines. No wonder they called it the mega-tasting. It was interesting that they themed everything via region, rather than grouping people via distributor or agent – and I think if most people were honest with themselves, 50% of attendees loved it, but the other 50% weren’t too keen. But then you never will please all of the people. In general though, it seemed to be a bit of a roaring success.

13th October 2005

Wandered around the South African tasting yesterday. Bloody hell it’s big. Over 280 producers and apparently over 3,200 wines. No wonder they called it the mega-tasting. It was interesting that they themed everything via region, rather than grouping people via distributor or agent – and I think if most people were honest with themselves, 50% of attendees loved it, but the other 50% weren’t too keen. But then you never will please all of the people. In general though, it seemed to be a bit of a roaring success.

What was fascinating, though, was the variation in the level of knowledge of the UK market amongst the producers. The majority were pretty well up on what was going on, on the level of margin needed, the degree of promotional support demanded, and generally the challenging state of trading wine in the UK – especially mass appeal wine. Others, however, were less well informed.

"Really," asked one producer who looked like I had slapped him with a wet fish when I told him he’d be asked for margins of 45% by the majority of the multiples if he wanted a listing – and that was before promotional support entered the discussion. It was, to be blunt, a bit like taking a brand new toy away from a toddler. I could almost see his bottom lip wavering.

But then that’s the challenge when you’re handling a generic. However well you communicate with your members – and in the case of South Africa, Chile and Australia, they communicate very well indeed – there will still be those who just don’t get it. They love the shiny wrapping, the glitz and glamour of the UK market, but are totally unprepared to handle its rather seedy underbelly.

It wasn’t many months ago, for example, that Charlotte Hey, the Drinks Business publishing and editorial director, was asked to do a presentation to Argentinean producers about the state of the UK market and prospects within it. Although I wasn’t present, I am reliably informed that one man in particular refused to believe that 75-80% of all wine in the UK is sold under £5.99. "It simply isn’t possible," he allegedly replied.

What’s funny is that we’ve become so used to it ourselves, that we rarely question it these days. We’ve had the figures in our heads for so many years, that we’ve almost come to accept it as a given. Supermarkets will control the vast majority of wine sales,  most will be sold on discount, and it will still be difficult to breach the £5 barrier this year and next year, and possibly even the year afterwards – as consolidation in the wine industry teeters towards its inevitable conclusion – free wine for all.

It’s only when you talk to some people, as I did yesterday, that you realize how absurd and depressing it must be. "Doesn’t that mean that all you can really sell in this market is crap," commented one producer, with typical South African sang froid. Well, not strictly true, but you can see his point.