Is there a crisis fermenting for English wine?

A news article has created a passionate debate about retail and the lack of English still wines on the shelves. Is the criticism fair? db takes a look.

“The recent buds relax and spread/Their greenness is a kind of grief”. So writes Philip Larkin in his poem The Trees, which equates nature’s rebirth and the renewal of the season’s with death, pain and existential despair, as all new buds must eventually die.

Hopefully this isn’t how English wine producers feel right now. But it is undeniable that in some quarters there is concern about the trajectory of the industry, and questions if the apparent success to-date will continue on a sustainable, long-term footing.

Stocking

A recent article published in The Spectator by a former grapegrower illustrated this last week. It caused much debate in the sector, as it highlighted that major multiples, such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s, as well as the discounters such as Aldi, aren’t stocking many — or indeed, any — English still wines.

While English Sparkling is one of the great agriculture success stories in the past 30 years, from Rathfinny to Balfour to Chapel Down and Busi-Jacobsohn, there has been much excitement about the growing opportunity of still wines in a warming climate. As drinks writer Henry Jeffreys has highlighted in his book Vines in a Cold Climate: The People Behind the English Wine Revolution, a large amount of effort is now being put into the Essex peninsula, in the land around Crouch Valley, which is north of Southend and south of Maldon.

As highlighted by Patrick Schmitt MW, this area of Eastern England is sometimes dubbed the ‘Côte d’Or’ of the UK, with the Crouch Valley compared to the famous heartland of Burgundy due to its sloping vineyards, clay-rich soils, and its sunny, relatively dry conditions. Indeed, this south-eastern part of the UK is one of the driest areas of the country, and also claims to have a low frost risk, while being less exposed to damaging winds compared to higher and more westerly areas of the UK.

On this evidence, the future seems bright for still wines, and as Jeffreys highlights in his book, could even be the place where a Petrus equivalent is found in this sceptred isle.

WineGB

CEO of WineGB Nicola Bates said that the group would “of course” like to see more English and Welsh wine on supermarket shelves and in restaurants, but that the sector had taken “big strides forward is recent years and the category is increasingly well supported in both the on- and off-trade”.

She said: “All the major UK supermarkets now carry an own-label English sparkling along with other brands, marking a step-change in what was available 10 to 15 years ago. As our industry data shows, independent retailers and the on-trade also form a significant proportion of sales (34%) and are more likely to champion our smaller producers.”

However, despite the “rapid growth”, Bates was keen to stress that the industry “remains small in the world of wine”, which brought “economies of scale into play”.

She added: “Our role at WineGB is to engage with the trade and increase awareness of our industry, while also ensuring our members master their routes to market.

“Campaigns such as English Wine Week and Welsh Wine Week do just that. Given the growing interest in our industry, we are ambitious and expect a greater range of wines and more volume on shelf in the future.”

Tesco

Responding to the criticism, Lauren Ballantyne, Product Developer for English wines at Tesco, said that it had “an exceptional range of quality English wines”.

She added: “People may not be as aware of England’s credentials as a grape growing destination, but sales data from Tesco also indicated a growing trend in the popularity of English sparkling wine, with sales of Tesco Finest English Sparkling Rosé Brut increasing by 70.6% between 2022 and 2023.”

The retailer also highlighted its work with its “incredible partner”, Kent-based Balfour Winery.

“(It is) a typical fresh and vibrant White made from Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Bacchus, as well as a delicate and floral Rosé made from Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir, which has been has been incredibly popular since launching,” Ballantyne concluded.

Sour grapes

Indeed, Stephen Skelton MWalso  told the drinks business that the tale of doom and gloom spun in The Spectator appears to be “sour grapes” from a grower who was unable to make it work.

He said: “You need to think about the scale of GB wine production. We have averaged around 15 million bottles a year in recent years, with 2018 and 2023 being well above average and other years below.

“2024 is probably going to be around 15 million. Sparkling wine (70% of total production) tales 4-5 years to reach maturity, and therefore sales always reflect earlier vintages.”

In reference to calls for government to help, Skelton believes that it is unlikely, and that politicians are “never” going to reduce excise duty on homegrown products. Calling attention to former Chancellor Gordon Brown’s Small Brewers Relief, which helped drive the craft beer revolution two decades ago, he highlighted that was “something copied from the Germans and Belgians, who had the legislation already in place”.

He added: “There is no comparable EU regulation for wine as in all the producer countries of the EU, there is no excise duty on still wine. The UK Government has always been supportive of GB viticulture, maybe not as much as people wanted, but more than most agricultural crops.”

Handful

Skelton also thinks it is unfair to criticise the on-trade, and also to consider the current levels of production against the economies of scale of the big multiple retailers.

“50% of the 10 million bottles sold in a year is sold direct to the public,” he continued, “and another 25% goes direct to the on-trade and other hotel, restaurant and catering outlets, leaving 25% to go into the off-trade, including specialist outlets and people like Laithwaites and the Wine Society.

“There is no way that a big supermarket can stock more than a small handful of different GB wines. Some like Waitrose, Tesco, Co-op, and Morrisons, make a good effort and the others are not far behind.”

db has contacted all of the supermarkets mentioned in the original piece for comment on their listings, and why they don’t stock more English still wines.

 

 

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