Tesco to start selling Lafite

In an ambitious move into fine wine, supermarket giant Tesco is to start selling Château Lafite and other classed growth Bordeaux as part of a new fine wine offer both in store and online. As reported on db.com, beginning with the much-lauded 2009 vintage, other wines to go on sale at a select few branches of Tesco will be first growth Château Mouton-Rothschild, flying fifth Pontet-Canet, St-Emilion’s Cheval Blanc and Cos d’Estournel in St-Estèphe.

“The wine was shipped sometime ago, we’re just trying to decide what to call the offer at the moment, as it won’t be an en primeur offering,” Tesco’s director for beers, wines and spirits Dan Jago told db, insisting he has “good quantities” of all of the wines, and that the duty paid prices will be “very competitive.” “We made the move as some of our customers were asking for certain fine wines we didn’t stock,” he said.

The wines will be available by the bottle and mixed case at the end of the summer in 25-30 of Tesco’s most upmarket stores around the UK. “I want to offer them as single bottles as we want to deter investors. We want the wine to be bought by the people who are going to pop the cork,” Jago added. Every little helps…  

Paper wine bottle launch imminent

The world’s first paper wine bottle is set to hit UK supermarket shelves imminently. Its maker, GreenBottle, has just signed a deal with independent wine supplier Kingsland Wines to bottle the wine at its Manchester base. GreenBottle founder Martin Myerscough (pictured) is in the final stages of negotiation with one of the UK’s leading supermarkets, which is set to debut the bottle this autumn.

“We’re looking at a six month ‘first to market’ agreement, and will premiere the bottle with one or two wines to begin with,” Myerscough told the drinks business. “Kingsland is currently doing some shelf life testing, but we predict it to be the same is bag-in-box wine: 9-12 months,” Myerscough added. The entrepreneur has seen huge interest in the bottle from Australia, California and France, and plans to take his invention across the globe next year.

“The phone has been ringing from all corners of the world. I’ve just come back from Australia, where I’ve had serious interest in the bottle from a number of wineries. Even a few French producers have shown an interest,” Myerscough said, though warned of the dangers of getting too excited and ahead of the game. “The focus for now is getting the bottles on the shelf in the UK,” he said.

On the subject of pricing, he confirmed the bottle would be under £5, but warned that if priced too cheaply it would “devalue the brand.” The bottles, which weigh just 55g, will be made at Myerscough’s plant in St Helens and filled at Kingsland in Manchester. Myerscough intendeds to sell the technology, allowing companies to build bottling plants next to their manufacturing sites and cut down on transport. The compostable bottle’s carbon footprint is 10% of that of a glass bottle. 

Pernod to push premium wines

Pernod Ricard UK is turning the spotlight on its premium wines in order to bridge the gap between shoppers who are willing to trade up on wine, and those who actually do. As reported on thedrinksbusiness.com, of 2,500 consumers surveyed, almost 60% said they were willing to spend more than £7 on a bottle of wine, though in reality only 11% do.

Pernod’s premium focus has been spurred on by the fact that light wine is in decline, with volumes down 2.3% on last year. “The market is flat for the fist time in many years, so we need to inject value into the category,” admitted Pernod’s deputy managing director Simon Thomas. “Premium wine is our fastest growing category, and with such a high percentage of consumers willing to trade up, it’s a compelling growth proposition."

According to Thomas, retailers could expect an average of £2.74 more a bottle from premium wine. Defined by PRUK as priced between £6.50 to £8.50, research showed premium wine is appealing to both connoisseurs and aspirational wine consumers, though Pernod has chosen to focus its energy on “floating voters” that dip in and out of the category. The company aims to make the most of its premium offering in the off-trade by making the wines readily available, attractive to look at and built around a special occasion.

Chris Shead, Pernod’s category insights director, believes the “enormous gap” between consumers’ intention to buy premium wine and actual buying habits provided a big opportunity. “The intimidating wall of wine in supermarkets drives consumers pick wines by price. We desperately need to improve the in-store experience to entice shoppers to trade up,” he said. Describing premium wine as “the engine room for growth,” Shead believes the current economic climate has lead to more people entertaining at home, who are treating themselves to better quality food and wine as a result.

To allow retailers to capitalise on the premium sector, PRUK will be offering help with in-store marketing, focused around promoting occasions. “Special occasions provide the best opportunities for trading up, so we’re giving them a big push with on-shelf video barkers, occasion neck collars and occasion cases,” said wine channel director Lee James. Pernod is also looking to maximise opportunities at deli counters with suggested premium wine pairings for cheeses and meats, and recipes on the back labels of Campo Viejo.

World's first paper wine bottle

Wine and the City talks to entrepreneur Martin Myerscough, inventor of the world's first paper wine bottle (set to launch in a UK supermarket early next year), about where the idea came from, how the bottle works, its green credentials, and why he thinks he'll win wine snobs round.