France leads fight back

The balance of press mentions is tipping away from Australia and back towards France

IN JUNE WE’VE seen a dramatic increase in press mentions for Old World wines, with France leading the charge with a near-7% increase from May to June. France’s European compatriots – Germany, Italy, Austria and Portugal – have also seen increased mentions, while Spain continues to hold its own from last month.

While interesting on its own, the story becomes more intriguing when read in context – the most dramatic change in press mentions is a near-13% drop for Australia, exactly half of its 25.8% share in May.

Since January 2002 when "In The Press" first started tracking this data, France has consistently attracted more mentions than Australia, so this increase isn’t news – it’s the size of the increase versus Australia’s fall that has captured our attention.

Whether this is coincidence or the beginnings of a trend only time will tell.  Seasonal factors may well be at play here, as they are in the run-up to Christmas, and two potential factors stand out. Firstly, the arrival of summer – and a very warm one – means more focus on lighter white and rosé wines, traditionally Old World and particularly French high-ground  areas.

Secondly and more interestingly, Old World generics and producers may be launching comeback campaigns, timed to capitalise on two of the biggest wine trade fairs.  Both the London International Wine and Spirits Fair and Vinexpo represent ideal marketing  opportunities for wine producers and marketers.

Tastings, samples and producer/regional visits to the UK all help to bring particular wine regions to the forefront of a wine writer’s consciousness.  The occurrence of these trade shows so close together in the wine trade’s calendar during this period may also have had some influence on wine writers.

In addition, Old World wines were especially evident in the trade press leading up to the start of both shows.  The bi-annual Vinexpo naturally draws the world’s attention to French wines, while the London Wine Fair is customarily a venue where new wines and portfolios are introduced by both Old World and New World producers.

More active marketing campaigns leading up to and during LIWSF from many of the interest groups promoting French Wines may have had a stronger influence than normal, with Vinexpo following only a few weeks later.

So back to our original quandary: have the back-to-back trade fairs launched a trend in Old World wine press dominance or is their increased share simply a coincidence? Clearly there are strong arguments on both sides, especially with two other New World countries showing healthy increases in press mentions over the periods in question, with Chile and New Zealand growing their share of coverage to 8.8% and 5.6% respectively.

However, the significant shift in press mentions balance between France and Australia still remain very intriguing. 

It will be interesting to see what happens with the July figures in a month’s time, after the furore of the shows has died down and the relatively quiet and sober period of the summer months begins to properly kick in across the trade.