Jean Smullen examines what the Covid-19 pandemic has meant for offtrade wine sales and looks at ‘must stock’ wines for the summer season

The Vine Inspiration

Jean Smullen examines what the Covid-19 pandemic has meant for off-trade wine sales and looks at ‘must stock’ wines for the summer season.

A GLANCE at social media shows that food and drink is keeping the nation sane while we isolate because of Covid-19. During these strange days, the consumer is focused on sharing wine and food with friends live, via social media or through video-calling apps and is buying more of everything. In the independent off-trade, wine sales are also soaring, mainly because of the dramatic shift to online wine shopping. Wine Intelligence have updated their Global Market Report to highlight the short and long-term effects of the pandemic on wine consumption. The report states that the predicted recession is likely to halt, if not reverse, trading up and a return to value-formoney will be paramount to consumers. The Wine Intelligence report also states that once the global restrictions are over, the switch to at-home drinking will remain a medium to long-term trend. They also suggest that the pre-Covid boom for alternative and sustainable methods of wine production (e.g. natural and organic wines) may not survive the crisis, as the increasingly price-conscious consumer returns to fundamental choices and away from desirable ones. Plainly speaking, a return to brand loyalty and price monitoring. Anecdotally, some of the Irish wine importing companies have noted a significant shift back to the trusted wine brands, with strong evidence that the consumer is trading up. With sales in the on-trade down by 40%, retail is making up a little of this, especially via independent retailers. Many Irish off licences and wine shops have been operating reduced opening hours but have moved very successfully into online retailing, which includes home delivery within a maximum of two working days. With online supermarket orders experiencing anything up to three weeks delay, the smaller independents have stepped in to fill this void, which has greatly increased their presence in terms of wine sales. It will be interesting to see if this continues when restrictions on mobility are lifted. In terms of what the consumer is drinking, global pandemic notwithstanding, don’t forget the seasonal aspect to wine; when the seasons change so do wine styles. Rosé wine accounts for approximately 5% of the Irish market; as soon as spring arrives, more of it appears. As the days grow longer and as consumers spend more time in their gardens, lighter and fresher wine styles and those that work well with barbecued food are very much in demand, as is the case every year, no matter what is happening in the world.

Santa Rita Wine Estates

Retail News spoke to Terry Pennington of Santa Rita Wine Estates, Ireland’s fastest growing wine brands. Santa Rita have invested enormously here in terms of price promotion and sponsorship activities. As a result, Santa Rita have achieved the highest overall sales through their stable of wine brands which includes Carmen, Dona Paula, Santa Rita and Sur Andino. Terry told us that nearly 40% of the bottled Sauvignon Blanc coming into Ireland at the moment comes from Chile. Chilean producers are making a huge effort to try to segment this by creating different styles of Sauvignon in order to make the category more enticing to the consumer. Terry explained that they have been focusing on Sauvignon Blanc from their Carmen Wave series. The Carmen Wave “Left Wave Sauvignon

Blanc” is a softer style of

Sauvignon, with a more distinctive rounded, mineral style, made from grapes sourced in Leyda Valley. They also have the Carmen Reserva Premier 1850 Fume Blanc another distinctive unique Sauvignon Blanc. Carmen is distributed in Ireland by United Wines.

The Carmen Wave “Left Wave Sauvignon Blanc” is a softer style of Sauvignon, with a more distinctive rounded, mineral style.

Ampersand

The low price of Prosecco makes it unbeatable in the sparkling category. Ampersand have a very stylish Prosecco from Pasqua that is gaining in terms of sales and recognition. The Pasqua Audrey Hepburn Prosecco, named after the famous film star, uses the Tiffany colour as part of the packaging.

Pasqua Wines, one of Ampersand’s flagship wineries, has a host of super value offers available for May and June.

This gives the brand a very distinctive and identifiable presence on shelves. Ampersand are offering a special case price (for six bottles) of €47.92 (down from €53.40) in May and June, giving an RRP of €12.95. Pasqua, one of Ampersand’s flagship wineries, will also be offering the Pasqua Le Collezioni Pinot Grigio delle Venezia (RRP €11.99) and the Pasqua le Collezioni Montepulciano (RRP €9.99) with a case price offer (per case of 12) of €81.85 for the Pinot Grigio and €78 for the Montepulciano; minimum order of four cases. They also have the Cecilia Beretta Pinot Grigio Luna at €9.99, with a promotional case price offer of €39 per case of six, with a minimum order of six cases.

Barry & Fitzwilliam

The McGuigan Black Label range is a top seller from Barry & Fitzwilliam. The hugely successful Graham Norton wine range from Barry & Fitzwilliam.

that to Canada, where just four brands exceed 60% in terms of consumer awareness, or the United States, where brand awareness is for 3% of branded wines. The wine brand is a key feature of the retail trade here in Ireland. Barry & Fitzwilliam are the distributors of many of Ireland’s top selling wine brands. Kate Barry, Marketing Manager at Barry & Fitzwilliam, highlighted a number of offers this summer for many of their key wine agencies.

Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc will be available on offer at €11 against a standard RRP of €15.

Look out for Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Riesling & Chardonnay, on offer at €11 against a standard RRP of €15. The hugely popular Graham Norton Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé will be reduced from the standard RRP of €15 and will be on offer in May and June for a promotional RRP of €12. The McGuigan Black Label Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio & Chardonnay, which usually have an RRP of €12, will be on promotional price of RRP €9. Barry & Fitzwilliam will also be launching a new range of “celebrity” wines this summer. Following on from the enormous success of the Graham Norton range, look out for Kylie Minogue Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc & Rosé (RRP €14) from the South of France and the

Sara Jessica Parker Rosé (RRP €18).

Classic Drinks

This summer season, Classic Drinks will be highlighting their Gran Baron Cava. The Vallformosa family, based in the Penedes region of Spain, have been winemakers since 1865. The family has three wineries: their Cava house in Penedès, their famous Rioja and their La Rioja wine from Argentina. Their Cava is made using Methode Champenoise and is a lovely fresh clean and crisp style. The Grand Baron Cava, exclusive to Dunnes Stores, will be on offer at €15. Look out too for the Michel Torino Estate Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc from Argentina on offer with a special priced RRP of €11.99- 12.99.

Cassidy Wines

Cassidy Wines have two new Rosé wines on promotion in May and June. The Chateau de Berne Estate in Provence was built by the Romans and today on the 1,235-acre site, they grow 300 acres of vines. There are two wines in the portfolio, Chateau de Berne Romance and Chateau de Berne Esprit. Both are on offer at a trade price (per case of six) of €14.99 (Romance) and €15.99 (Esprit) per bottle. Provençal Rosé is now one of the worlds’ most sought after wine styles. In 2007, the region of Provence exported 5m litres of their rosé globally; by 2019, sales had increased to over 30m litres. The style is dry but one of the key features is the colour, which is very pale, almost blush pink. Provence Rosé is generally fresh, light, crisp and dry. It can sometimes be austere, but the best has very attractive elegant strawberry fruits and some complexity. Consumers from all over the world (including Ireland) are happy to pay increasingly large sums for rosé wine from Provence.

The Berne wines are made from a blend of red grapes, including Grenache Noir, Cinsault, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and they are sealed with a very fashionable glass stopper, which adds to the premium look. They are both categorised IGP Méditerranée and the flavours include ripe peach and strawberry; both wines have a lovely texture, with an almost silky finish. They will certainly appeal to the growing number of Irish Provençal Rosé fans, so make sure you stock them.