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Ready to pop: Exciting times for bubbles
THE RUN-UP TO CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR IS A HUGELY IMPORTANT TIME FOR THE SALE OF ALL SPARKLING WINES AND CHAMPAGNE, ANDY YOUNG LOOKS AT WHAT RETAILERS NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE SALES SPIKE.
Champagne Lanson’s Green Label is about purity and freshness
Champagne and sparkling wines have never been more popular in Australia and while those growth trends continue in a positive direction, this is a crucial category for retailers, and one they should ensure they are capitalising on.
Over the last 10 years exports of Champagne to Australia have seen huge growth, and as the quality of Australia’s sparkling wine improves and Australian consumers become more knowledgeable about homegrown products, the opportunities continue. In addition, with the growth of the spritz and other Prosecco-based cocktails that segment is also becoming increasingly important to retailers.
While these styles and occasions are presenting more opportunities, Charlotte Agard, Business Development Manager ANZ at Champagne Lanson, suggests there are further opportunities for retailers to help consumers think a little differently about their bubble buys.
“When consumers are searching for a wine to go with a meal, sparkling or Champagne doesn’t often come to their mind,” she says.
The Champagne Taittinger house and vines
“The retailer has a role to play here, by suggesting a different pairing association. Bubbles go very well with fish, seafood and desserts – those are the classics – but also with cheese, veal and richer meats like duck, prosciutto and pasta. The possibilities are endless and it completely changes the whole food experience.”
However, while the cocktail and spritz occasion are important to the category, Annelie Mitchell, Marketing Manager with the Wingara Wine Group, says that the understanding Australian consumers are having about sparkling wines is developing and maturing.
“There still appears to be a retail push to promote sparkling together with cocktails and spritz drinks which signifies ‘celebration’,” Mitchell says. “However sparkling wine consumption is changing from special occasions to everyday drinking.
“As consumption frequency increases and palates mature, similar to Europe, Australian consumers will increasingly realise that sparkling wine is one of the most food friendly wines.
“In Spain it is custom to drink cava with daily meals as the floral, citrus, and mineral characters and lower alcohol are refreshing and work to complement, not overpower, the flavours of the food.”
The Brown Family Wine Group has seen tremendous success recently within the sparkling category, driven by its Prosecco and other innovations. In 2016 and 2017 the Brown Brothers Prosecco was the standout driver of Prosecco’s ongoing momentum in Australia, accounting for 30 per cent of all the segment’s growth.
Champagne on lees in the Taittinger cellar
Caroline Brown agreed that if retailers can pre-promote sparkling and help consumers to take a slightly different view of the wine, then there are huge opportunities.
“The key to unlocking growth in sparkling wine is calling out more casual occasions in-store, and educating consumers to see sparkling wine as a choice for refreshment.”
That concept of Champagne being an excellent food-matching wine, is one very close to the heart of Champagne Taittinger’s Clovis Taittinger. And while it is important to him that consumers understand this, he believes it is also important that everyone remembers what is at the core of Champagne.
“Champagne is definitely a drink of celebration and, to my opinion, we should never forget this fundamental aspect,” Taittinger says. “To celebrate has been, is and always will be a key component of our lives. It is important to celebrate every single thing in life and not take a certain ‘well-being’ for granted.
“Things can unfortunately change and we have to celebrate when it is time to.”
He adds, “If Champagne is very successful it is because it goes very well with gastronomy too and lots of people are continuing to discover this. More can be done on this aspect, maybe. But to me I would leave it to everyone’s appreciation and choice. It is wrong to influence the consumers too much and I prefer that everyone keeps their free spirit.”
The Taittinger grapes are handpicked off the vines
“A young sparkling or Prosecco with prosciutto, seafood or spicy Asian dishes is a great way to celebrate the end of the week or get ready for a night out.
“Sparkling wines that are more complex work well with more robust meal occasions. Jacob’s Creek Reserve Chardonnay Pinot Noir with grilled salmon or fresh oysters and Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Shiraz complements dishes such as roast duck or BBQ ribs.”
TRENDS IN BUBBLES
Sparkling and Champagne are without doubt popular wines in Australia. This country is the seventh largest for Champagne exports and, discounting a pipeline filling discrepancy in 2015, exports to Australia have grown every year since 2009. Since 2001 Champagne exports to Australia have grown ten-fold.
Part of the reason behind this growth is the premiumisation trend that has occurred for several years across the whole of Australia’s alcohol market. Taittinger explains why he believes this is relevant in Australia’s Champagne category.
“The clear trend I have seen for years is that people are more and more looking for quality, for consistency and for brands that are representing these values. Our mission is to assure our clients that our brands are offering pleasure, excellence and consistency.”
The popular King Valley Prosecco from Brown Family Wine Group
At Lanson, the Champagne House avoids malolactic fermentation, and Agard says this adds to the purity and freshness and also its latest release in independent retail, its organic, Green Label NV.
“Being organic this cuvée goes one step further, the grapes are grown in the most traditional way and respectful of nature, using no herbicides and pesticides. The wine expresses the quality and uniqueness of the terroir to its fullest and is characterised by its mineral purity.”
Mitchell adds that part of the consumer journey of looking for more and more quality is the exploration of different styles of sparkling wine.
THE PROSECCO FIGHT: The right of Australian winemakers to label their wines as Prosecco is being challenged by Italy. The Italian Prosecco industry has seen the growing success story that is happening in Australia and has decided to challenge the use of the term Prosecco. The issue is part of the Free Trade Agreement negotiations happening between Australia and the European Union, with the Government saying it’s “working closely with the Australian wine industry on this issue”. Caroline Brown says, “the King Valley is the premium growing region in Australia for Prosecco and we are proud to be part of this region. We bought the vines as Prosecco and we will continue to make, and label it as top quality Australian Prosecco”.
“Australia is continuing to bat above its average in sparkling wine consumption. We still can’t get enough Prosecco but consumers (especially younger, legal-age drinkers) are more willing to explore across the sparkling category such as Spanish cava – and we are seeing Freixenet cava export sales building. Especially imported sparkling at the mid-tier price point where it is not just about brand name.”
The theme of strong Prosecco growth is one that Greg Philipp, Executive General Manager of Domestic Sales at Kollaras & Co has seen and he attributes the movement to bubbles becoming a more regular choice for consumers.
“Prosecco, both Italian and domestic, is in strong growth in both volume at over 50 per cent and value over 55 per cent, and now represents over 10 per cent of sparkling wine sales in Australia,” Philipp says.
“Prosecco’s strong growth, even outside of the key celebration periods, proves that consumers are embracing it as an everyday drink, not one just reserved for celebrations.”
Looking in more detail at that Prosecco growth, IRI’s MarketEdge data, MAT to 5 August 2018, shows that at $79m, Prosecco’s sales represent 13 per cent of overall sparkling wine sales, but the segment has delivered 86 per cent of the growth. In fact, Prosecco growth of $27m, or 50 per cent, is greater than five times overall sparkling wine growth.
IRI says that Prosecco is the leading growth varietal and that there is no indication that its growth momentum will stall any time soon.
SEASONAL PEAK
Despite sparkling wines and Champagne becoming more everyday drinks, there is little doubt that the wines within this category enjoy a seasonal boost. The expectation is that the trends experienced throughout the year will continue into the latter part of the year, with key drivers including the warmer weather, Spring Racing and the festive season.
In fact the 2018 Australian Liquor Stores Association (ALSA) and IRI State of the Industry Report highlighted that the strong seasonal growth for sparkling and Champagne was evidenced by dollar growth of 9.2 per cent in the week ending 24 December 2017, with a 5.7 per cent uplift in the year’s final week.
The report adds, “Seasonal trends have been broadly similar on the last two years, with a high of 12.4 per cent of dollar sales occurring in December and a low of 6.7 per cent in February.”
So the time is right for retailers to get ready for the seasonal boost and take full advantage of an increased consumer desire for sparkling wines and Champagne. But what can you do to make sure you are part of the seasonal peak?
Taittinger says, “Christmas and New Year celebrations are generally important times for re-conciliating, reuniting families, friends and people. I do believe that Australian retailers have always been very good at promoting Champagne through good online or in-store promotions.
Katnook Sparkling wine
“I do also believe that these times are an opportunity for the retailers to ‘up sale’ and make their consumers discover new cuvées from our brands, above and beyond the classic assortment.”
Brown adds that if retailers can plan some of their sparkling promotional activity at this time, it will make a big difference.
“Sparkling is a traffic driver for retailers, when it’s promoted pre-store. Retailers should also look to focus their investment in-store, helping to inspire and inform shoppers. With exploration and quality being important to shoppers, highlighting new and premium brands will also help, and remember that sparkling shoppers will spend more once they are in a store.”
Cordon Negro Brut
Philipp also has solid advice, and reminders, for what retailers need to be looking at with the peak season for these premium products starting now.
“Retailers should look to place high margin SKUs front and centre, flanked around the low margin traffic drivers. It’s also important to encourage your staff to know and recommend the high margin brands.”
He adds, “Focusing on the growth sectors, like domestic and Italian Prosecco will help, and retailers should also ensure they have adequate stock weight and facings for increased sales rates. This includes thinking about smaller format products. Finally remember that consumers pantry stock at this time of year especially in this category. So have full cases available and priced; maybe even consider having six-packs of sparkling and Prosecco in the cool room as a ready-to-go option.”
Agard suggests retailers think a bit differently about their promotional strategy with Champagne in the coming months.
“Champagne is a classic at that time of the year so rather than fighting for the best price on the Brut, a game that is hard to win against some larger retail players, what would bring value to the consumer is a good price on one of the more premium cuvées. All the more if that cuvée isn’t available to the wider market.
“A special occasion like Christmas and New Year’s Eve calls for an even more special bottle of Champagne, so a vintage, multi vintage or rosé are very good options to impress the family and friends. The festive season is an excellent opportunity for a sales trade-up so retailers ought to seize it and spend time promoting and educating on the higher-end cuvées.”
Sparkling red is much more popular in November and December
ROSÉS IN BLOOM
With rosé and sparkling being two of the big growth drivers within the overall wine category, bringing the two together, should also offer growth opportunities for retailers, as Rebecca Appleton, Head of Public Relations, ANZ Brands at Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) points out.
“Sparkling rosé is gaining momentum and is currently growing at 4.4 per centand we really see this as a premiumisation opportunity for retailers. Sparkling rosé really is a growth varietal, capitalising on the still rosé phenomenon and Squealing Pig, which is now Australia’s number one rosé, has a new offering in this space, which will help see growth from still rosé into sparkling.”
Mitchell adds that with more and more consumers eyeing rosé occasions, there is a huge opportunity for retailers, and brands, when it comes to sparkling options.
“Pink drinks, both still and sparkling are selling extremely well. It seemed to start with millennials but has now spread to other demographics,” she says.
“Sparkling rosé is not just fun but can have real depth of flavour and good acidity, making it a great wine to drink with the many different cuisines available in Australia. Freixenet has recently launched a Sparkling Italian rosé in the UK which sold out immediately and we plan to release it in Australia in 2019.”
SPARKLING RED: This is the time of year when sparkling red becomes more and more popular as Rebecca Appleton from Treasury Wine Estates explains, “Christmas is the most important time of the year for sparkling red with more 35 per cent of the style’s volume going through the months of November and December. It’s a great wine for the celebratory occasion of Christmas”. But Annelie Mitchell at Wingara adds the future for the style could lie overseas, “We are enjoying growing interest from Japan and China for our Australian Sparkling Shiraz, where it is seen as a genuinely good wine to pair with their cuisine all-year round”.
Philipp agrees that sparkling rosé is a “fantastic opportunity to grow value in the sparkling category, combining two large trends in wine”.
He adds, “We feel this year will become a launch pad for the category, hence our decision to extend the Maschio Del Cavalieri range with a sparkling rosé, which is coming this month.” Agard also highlights the opportunities that exist for rosé in Australia. “Globally rosé Champagne represents 9.5 per cent of the total volume and 11.5 per cent of the total value of Champagne exports, while in Australia it only represents 3.3 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively. There is a huge opportunity for growth in that market. The Australians have just started appreciating the quality and versatility of the still rosé wine so rosé Champagne is definitely the next trend on the list.”
The Brown Brothers Prosecco Spritz
Meanwhile Taittinger says that their rosé has always been important, and that he believes consumers who fully engage with the category, will discover these kinds of expressions as part of their journey and exploration.
“Champagne Rosé has always been an important success for our houses and is still growing every year,” Taittinger says. “I not only believe in the potential of rosé in particular but more in the potential of ‘Champagne’ in general. We shall never rest on our laurels and our mission is really to help more people discover Champagne, its history, its culture and its wine. Once people are ‘in’, they generally tend to discover Champagne’s complex world, its brands and its colours by themselves.”
THE SPRITZ
Another huge opportunity within the category is the spritz, following the rise of the aperitivo in Australia and there are a number of brands who have moved to meet this consumer desire.
One of those is the Brown Family Wine Group, with Brown saying, “The spritz trend is only just beginning and we foresee this to be a new and exciting category in wine. We have recently launched Prosecco Spritz in both a 750ml bottle and a 250ml can format. Prosecco Spritz is a refreshing twist on Prosecco with orange aromatic bitters and it is perfect for more casual occasions”.
Sparkling red is another wine that works with many different types of food
BUBBLES AND FOOD: As sparkling and Champagne becomes a more popular ‘everyday’ drink, one of the drivers of that is understanding its amazing compatibility with food. This can often be missed, as when it is served as a celebration drink, it can be served with sweet cakes, which are actually one of the incompatible foods for Champagne. Because sparkling wines and Champagne contain high levels of acidity and smaller amounts sugar, it has extremes that complement elements in many different types of food from simple seafood and shellfish dishes through to curries and duck delights. Then there are the bubbles, of which Master Sommelier Andrea Immer says, “I call them scrubbing bubbles for your palate”.
Cordon Negro and Paella
Jacob’s Creek has also launched a Prosecco Spritz, and Smith says it has proved to be a huge success so far.
“With the signature serve of Prosecco Spritz, it is an ideal drink to have in the warmer months, but it is also suitable for occasions throughout the year. The original Prosecco Spritz (Blood Orange) has been a tremendous hit with Australian consumers. We’re excited to launch Prosecco Spritz Rosé with delicious pink grapefruit flavours just in time for summer, adding a new twist on the aperitivo occasion.”
Sparkling wine works with many food types
So with the key selling period fast approaching and many brands looking to capitalise on growth trends like Prosecco, rosé and spritz, this is an exciting time for sparkling and Champagne. It is also an exciting time forretailers, with the opportunity to increase sales of high margin, high value brands over the coming months.
With Australian consumers looking to explore all aspects of the category, staff knowledge and understanding will definitely help as a guide. As Australian consumers understand more about sparkling wine and Champagne, the momentum to purchasing more and not just for celebrations builds. With the coming months offering opportunities to increase sales, there is also the opportunity to build on this momentum and take Champagne and sparkling wines forward strongly in the new year.
