Morrisons Cellar reveals UK’s £4.7bn wine gamble

A survey by Morrisons Cellar has revealed that UK wine drinkers are spending £4.7 billion each year on “risky” wine purchases.

The consumer survey for the Morrisons Cellar Taste Test revealed that 74% of wine drinkers are not confident when it comes to purchasing wine.

The survey of 2,000 consumers also showed that women (64%) are the least confident wine buyers, and 54% of men were also unsure about the wine they are buying.

According to Nielsen data from the Wine and Spirits Trade Association total wine sales in 2012 in the UK were £6.35bn.

Simon Harrison, commercial director for new business development at Morrisons, said: “Interestingly, consumers know the flavours they like but when it comes to wine, the category appears to mystify the majority of people and usual common sense does not apply.

“Morrisons Cellar has recognised this dent in consumer confidence and invested in the Taste Test to make it as easy as possible for our shoppers to buy wine they are very likely to love.”

Morrisons Cellar, which offers over 1,000 wines, has created the Taste Test to help consumers become more confident in their wine purchases.

The Taste Test produces four distinct flavour categories, broken down into 13 flavour profile numbers: “sweet” (0-3), “fresh” (4-6), “smooth” (7-9) or “intense” (10-12). The idea is that once shoppers have their profile number they can be more confident about finding the wine they are most likely to enjoy.

Morrisons Cellar also revealed that after taking the Taste Test, over 71% of survey respondents said they would feel more confident about buying wine and over half were introduced to new wines they had never tried before.