WINE
How Britain learned to love wine We Brits long turned our noses up at wine, preferring a pint to a glass of pinot. Well, that was until some major brands, supermarkets and influencers got in on the act BY HUW PRYCE
And right now there’s another, more pressing reason for the surge in wine sales across the board. With pubs, bars, restaurants and theatres closed amid the global coronavirus pandemic, wine is flying off the supermarket and off-licence shelves. Some wine merchants that are able to deliver door-to-door are reporting sales up by an astonishing 1,000%. So how did we Brits learn to love wine? And how has the all-important messaging changed?
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With pubs and bars closed amid the global pandemic, some wine merchants that are able to deliver doorto-door are reporting sales up by 1,000%
LOVE AT FIRST SIP? Looking at a modern British supermarket, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the sizeable wine aisle has always been there. These days, wine outdoes shampoo and conditioner for sheer variety, and that’s before you even start to consider countries of origin. But that wasn’t always the case. In the dark days of the 1950s, the British public drank almost exclusively beer, cider, sherry and spirits. Expensive imported wine was the preserve of the privileged few. For the rest of us, there was “British wine” – a sweetened, adulterated drink made from grape juice. Its remnants can now be found in the backwaters of supermarket shelves, rebranded as health drinks or languishing as legacy brands. But as the middle classes grew in the second half of the 20th century, the potential market for wine grew too. It was a market the supermarkets would eventually wrest from the off-licences, with the help of some clever marketing.
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he PR world has always been quick to embrace the new, the different and the unusual. And what could be more unusual than the combination of “English” and “wine”? It even sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, given our famously rainy climate and the enormous potential for mouldy grapes. But English wines – and organic ones to boot – have been enjoying a huge surge in popularity in recent years. After all, with good farming practices, British vineyards can now produce high-quality, sustainable wines, the kind of stuff that wins prestigious awards. As Nick Mason from organic wine specialist Bancroft Wines puts it: “You’re amazing if you’re growing organic grapes anywhere in the world. You’re incredible if you’re doing it in England.” The rise of English wine comes on the back of some particularly clever comms in recent years, flagging up the virtues and overall quality of some of England’s finest vegan, organic and locally sourced wines, catering to a new, eco-savvy market. Thanks to the backlash against pesticides and a growing understanding among consumers of the perils of cheap, mass-produced wine, Britain’s organic producers are enjoying their moment in the sun, with UK sales up by 8% since 2018 and natural wines featuring heavily on wine lists at the likes of Raymond Blanc’s two-Michelin-starred Le Manoir restaurant in Oxfordshire.
