The Wine Merchant issue 67 by The Wine Merchant magazine

THE WINE MERCHANT. Issue 67, March 2018

An independent magazine for independent retailers

We braved the blizzards to hit our March deadlines

THIS MONTH 2 BACCHUS The indies who have declared war on plastics

4 comings & GOINGS

If you can sell mobility equipment, why not try your hand with wine?

8 tried & TESTED

Our search for a nice bottle of Hajós-Bajai comes to an end Rising prices and slower consumer spending are a toxic blend

Independent confidence up despite flatlining sales Confidence levels are slowly recovering in the independent trade, despite data which shows that average sales across the sector have stayed broadly flat over the past year. The proportion of independent merchants

who are confident of achieving a sales increase in the coming year has increased to just under 74%, compared to less than 70% in last year’s Wine Merchant reader survey.

The independent market as a whole hit

record levels in 2017, with sales rising to

£545.8m from the £527m recorded last year.

But much of the increase is down to the impact

of new businesses and extra shops. The average turnover per business was down 0.5% to

£869,185, while the average sales per shop

12 milestone at the mill

Barrica intends to celebrate its first decade in style

18 david williams

Lessons from the travails of midmarket restaurant chains

26 Mr & MRS FINE WINE

declined 1% to £634,707.

This year’s survey, which was completed by

a record 179 independents, shows that there were winners and losers over the past 12

months, with many merchants achieving big

increases in turnover and planning expansion. But for others, the impact of Brexit, slower

consumer spending, rising prices and poor

vintages across Europe means that they are braced for a difficult 12 months.

Margins are holding up well, averaging 34.5%

at retail level, while the mean selling price for a bottle of wine has risen from £11.62 to £12.25.

Six pages of survey analysis starts on page 26 and continues in our April edition.

Why it didn’t take long to move into larger premises

42 focus on english wine

Merchants find customers seek out local heroes

50 make a date

The April tastings you need to have on your agenda

53 supplier Bulletin

Essential updates from agents and suppliers

BACCHUS © Dewald / stockadobe.com

b Champagne wants Academy recruits For Philip Amps, the benefits of Champagne Academy membership for independent merchants are crystal clear. Yet for one reason or another, the association has lost some of its profile in the UK and former chairman Amps hopes to persuade younger members of

The course involves a week of education in Reims and Epernay

instils, membership of the Academy is

were two organic wines that had just been

“Every year we have the AGM – the

“Before each dinner there’s a tasting,

something Amps says continues to provide benefits to him in his role as a merchant. vintage tasting, featuring the current

the trade to consider joining. The group was established in 1956 to

houses, but typically lists wines from five or six of them at any one time.

members.

“I do rotate them round because like

These include Bollinger, Veuve Clicquot,

anything, people like to see something

Charles Heidsieck, Krug, Lanson, Laurent-

new,” he says. “So Pommery I hadn’t had for Amps: membership benefits are ongoing

The only payment is the £75 life

vintage in magnum that the house is

Amps, owner of Amps Fine Wines in

are encouraged to bring people who are

membership fee due after completing the course and passing the daily exams.

Oundle, Northamptonshire, says although

a week is a big commitment, “when people know about it, they’ll find a way to do it, because it is that sort of course”.

As well as the contacts and the

knowledge that the course generates and

prestige cuvées. So that education carries Amps says that he feels free to stock

and Reims, hosted and organised by the 16

Roederer, Ruinart and Taittinger.

and there’s the opportunity to try some

Champagnes from outside the 16 Academy

ranks take a one-week course in Epernay

Heidsieck, Pol Roger, Pommery, Louis

plus you get to taste the wines with dinner

the UK.”

Marques. Those who are accepted into its

Monopole, Mumm, Perrier-Jouët, Piper-

else.

on from France, through to your work in

foster more appreciation of the Grandes

Perrier, Moët & Chandon, Heidsieck

released. I’ve not seen those anywhere

selling,” he says.

“It is for members and guests and we

in the trade. We have the London dinner, the Scottish dinner, the Northern dinner,

a while, but I tasted the cuvée – the 2002

vintage – which is the best I’ve tasted this year, so we listed that over Christmas.” More information at www.

champagneacademy.co.uk.

Top 100 deadline The deadline for entries in this year’s Wine Merchant Top 100 is Wednesday,

the Midlands dinner and then we have the

March 27.

alternative cuvée tasting this year there

an entry form.

alternative cuvée tasting.

“We get to see things that are new. At the

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 2

Please visit www.winemerchanttop100.

com for more information and to download

Board the comedy Indies declare bus at GWW war on plastics Great Western Wine is a regular

Plastic is fast becoming public

supporter of the Wine Arts Trail, part of

enemy number one – and a couple of

the annual Bath Comedy Festival.

independent wine merchants are doing

Alan Nordberg, shop manager at the

Wells Road store, says the company

Flying Füchs

their bit to reduce their reliance on it. Dunnell’s Premier Wines, which has

supplies all the wine for the twice-daily

three shops on Jersey, sells around 40,000

“Seventy people arrive at the shop

But managing director Neil Pinel is not

“Our Man with the Facts”

reintroduce the old bottle deposit scheme

• The ancient Greeks played a drinking

moving to branded alternatives made from

disc balanced on a pole, with the aim

trip on a red double decker bus that is a popular element of the festivities.

and we give them a glass of Prosecco or Champagne,” he says.

Guests then board the bus and travel to

five more stops, each with a comedy sketch or theme. Arthur Smith was a previous celebrity “conductor” and this year it’s

the turn of comedian and actress Helen Lederer.

“The idea is that they have a glass of

wine when they arrive at each of the five stops and then they are dropped back here,” says Nordberg. “As far as we’re

concerned, it’s great fun and we get an

extra 140 people in the shop. Basically it’s a very good PR exercise.”

The Bath Comedy Festival runs from

March 27 until April 15.

bottles of water each year in plastic packaging.

planning to replenish any of his current

stock once it’s sold through, and intends to on Evian and San Pellegrino glass bottles.

game called kottabos. Players reclined

He is also phasing out plastic bags and

on coaches and aimed wine at a bronze

BinTwo in Padstow – which has already

into a domed pan placed further down.

collapsible and compostable coffee cups,

French oak may cost the winemaker

fabric.

banned bottled water sales in favour of free tap water refills – has introduced reusable, branded with the company’s logo.

Customers who present a reusable cup,

made by Stojo, qualify for a 15p discount on their hot drink. The company is also

encouraging customers to ask for free used coffee grinds to use as compost.

of dislodging it and sending it crashing • A barrel made from top-quality

upwards of €800. Assuming a three-

year lifespan for the barrel, this equates to around €1 per bottle of the resulting wine, purely in oak ageing costs. • In French, Spanish, Italian and German, there is no word for

“winemaker”. The French “vigneron” is often used as a synonym but more accurately means “wine grower”. • Phylloxera is not a problem in

the Spanish region of Toro, with its

abundance of sandy soils. It’s thought

that nearly 2,000ha of vineyards in the region are ungrafted.

• In medieval times, English speakers

used “tent” as the word for strong red wine from Spain and Portugal. It’s a corruption of “tinto”.

Comedy fans debate who will be the designated driver

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 3

From mobility shop to wine specialists Debbie Watts and her husband Michael are old hands when it comes to keeping shop in Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire. Their mobility business has been on

the high street for the past 10 years, but recently they’ve been looking for a new

challenge and decided a wine merchant would definitely have a fan base.

Knowing the “pattern” of their own high

street, the couple felt confident to start a

new business in the old HSBC building and it was when chatting to their friend, Janine Pert of Discover Wine in Denmead, that

they concluded a similar business could work in Lee.

“The response has been amazing,” says

Debbie, recalling the opening. “It wasn’t just people coming in to get a free glass

of Champagne – they were spending big money.

“It’s been steady every day since. People

just pop in to see the new business on the block. The feedback has been so positive

The Wine Bank in Lee-on-Solent is in a former HSBC branch

Online’s the priority Wirral merchant for Oswestry indie moves uptown Neil Jenkins, owner of Twelve Green

Whitmore & White’s original store in

Bottles in Oswestry, has taken his

Pensby Road, Heswall is relocating to

business in a new direction.

a more premier high street location

The company is now focused on

complete with customer parking.

Jenkins continues to run his wholesale

the range. “It’s going to be stacked a little

from the locals.”

e-commerce, with the shop no longer

has helped to shape their wine list, with

and online business from the town centre

Their knowledge of the local community

and its high street “full of empty shops” a keen eye on price points. Wines are

starting at around £7 and stopping at around £30.

Debbie says: “Even our Champagnes

we kept to the low end of the scale at

just below £30. We’re using Hallgarten,

Negociants, Fells, Connoisseur … Janine

has been really good and she has slowly been introducing me to suppliers.”

The company has also sourced an

interesting range of local gins and ales

opening regular hours.

owner Joe Whittick won’t be reducing

premises. Retail customers can still buy

going in there,” he says.

wine from the store, either by ringing the bell or calling ahead.

“We had a cracking January; we did a lot

more online than we would ordinarily have done in the shop,” says Jenkins.

All the branding and signage remains

and a vinyl sign on the window conceals

the more warehouse-styled storage within. • Paul Rollings has moved to Mallorca,

including some lines from the recently

meaning that the Rollings Wine Company

training courses for Debbie and Michael as

wine bar but have not bought the Rollings

established Portsmouth Gin Company.

shop in Harpenden has closed after 11

well as their part-time members of staff.

business.

Pert’s assistance will also extend to some

Although the new premises is smaller,

years. The new leaseholders are opening a

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 4

higher and a little tighter, but it will all be “Our biggest problem is the parking

and the footfall. We’re just trying to make ourselves a bit more accessible.

“There’s a little bit of [off-road] parking

there, and on-street parking; it just means people can pop in and grab something. I

think these days that if things aren’t easy for people they’re not really prepared to necessarily go out of their way.”

The price to pay for a higher footfall

sometimes means jostling with bigger high street names, and while Whittick admits

that relocating next door to an M&S food

hall might be “counter-intuitive” he asserts

“their customers are our customers, really”.

French buying trip gets duo in business The owners of Morgan Edwards Fine Wine & Spirits, the new independent, in Knutsford, are already directly importing 40% of their stock. Morgan Ward and Edward Speakman

met at university and while Speakman

pursued a career selling wines and spirits at auction, Ward became a London-based banker. “When I moved back home, we decided to give it a go,” says Ward.

“We went out to France in December

and took a good few weeks and picked

our favourite châteaux and vineyards. For

everything we import, we’ve actually been

Morgan Ward (left) and Edward Speakman: university friends

to the château and not just been to an

looking at shop premises and it was quite

Kent has taken shape inside a former tea

stock, along with a couple of smaller

and a fruit and veg place, so it all works

taken the role of head chef while Pleasence

agent.”

Liberty is helping with the rest of the

suppliers including a local woman who

imports direct from three New Zealand vineyards.

Although they only started trading on

February 1, Ward says that the diary is

busy with tastings and events, and since they increased the social media activity “the shelves are looking a bit bare”.

The online shop is now in development

expensive, then this place came up. There’s a butcher, a specialist cheese man, a café nicely together.

“We open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays

and Saturdays between 8am and 4pm. I think if we could open after work for

• Appellation Nation has closed its

“Ed still buys and sells his own fine

and continues to trade from its Cirencester

we range from £7.99 to around £30. We’re

Folkestone eaterie offers wine sales

end of its lease. The company is on the hunt

wines as well,” says Ward, “and we do have

store.

of the supermarkets, so we’re going for the quality/value ratio. Other than the French

for “bigger and better” premises in the town

stuff, which we’ve sourced ourselves,

Restaurateur David Hart and partner

WineSearcher.”

everything we order is either award

small selection of around 40 wines.

really busy.”

a matter of waiting for their AWRS licence

not going to win on price against the likes

is taking care of front of house. They have a

still manage to get here and Saturdays are

Cheltenham branch, which had come to the

a few fine wines on the shelves. But mostly

accommodate around 35 covers. Hart has

people that would really help. But people

and wholesale plans are in place – it’s just to come through.

room, which has now been converted to

Polly Pleasence (daughter of everyone’s

Former tea room has 40 wines on list

“We use Les Caves des Pyrene, Liberty

and Lea & Sandeman at the moment,” says Pleasence. “We also buy Bacchus direct

from Terlingham Vineyard in Kent. All the

wine is available to buy and take away at a 40% discount.”

• The English Wine Centre near Alfriston

winning or scores highly on the likes of

favourite Bond villain, actor Donald

in East Sussex has changed hands. Christine

Pleasence) have launched a restaurant

and Colin Munday have sold the business,

with a wine retail element.

which includes a shop, restaurant and

indoor market. Ward says: “We were

The Folkestone Wine Company in

The business trades from a stall in an

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 6

wedding venue, to Rob Blackman.

Adeline Mangevine

Totnes Wine Company has taken over Crebers, the Tavistock delicatessen. Owner Julian Packer plans to run the

business as a deli with a wine department, while introducing a small deli area to the Totnes store.

“Crebers was established in 1881

as a proper provisions store – a wine

merchant and deli,” says Packer. “It’s an

old established business that lost its way, I suppose. It’s a lovely little business and

we’re just looking to give it some attention and love.”

Totnes Wines will continue to trade as

such but the branding will be gradually phased out in favour of Crebers.

Nigel Pound, who sold Totnes Wine to

Packer last year, is helping to establish an agency business for the company.

Buyer on horizon for Blanc de Blancs Alex and Emma Buxton are hopeful they have found a buyer for their Blanc de Blancs business, which closed earlier this year. The wine bar and shop in Bramhall,

Stockport, opened in 2016 and was the successor of Aged in Oak, the couple’s

original retail venture in Garstang, the market town between Preston and Lancaster.

“It’s not a decision we have come to

lightly, as we love what we have achieved thus far with Blanc de Blancs,” says Alex.

“But long hours along with long-distance travel – we live in Preston – are a major factor in the decision.”

The premises are expected to reopen

soon with the Buxtons playing “a very background role going forwards”.

ur eyes meet across the

supermarket checkout lanes.

Our gazes lock for a few seconds

too long. He smiles, a little bashfully and I start to feel a warm glow … from sheer utter annoyance. While he’s trying to

work out where he knows me from, I’m trying to pretend I haven’t seen those

bottles of Yellowtail and Campo Viejo he’s piling onto the belt.

I’ve spent years grooming this

customer to buy better wines, gently

encouraging him to realise that spending

Then I see him in the supermarket. I’ve

popped in for detergent and loo paper. He’s stocking up on the big brands of

plonk. Suddenly, the penny drops and

he knows exactly who I am. He turns an alarming shade of pink and hurries to

pay up and scuttle out. I’ve caught him in flagrante, playing away.

And here’s the thing. When people

become regular customers, you

somehow think that they only ever

Let us never talk of my for a more enjoyable experience. He used to grab the two cheapest bottles big-spending he could find. Then he dropped by for a customer’s couple of free tastings. Could he taste the difference between a £6 and a £12 wine? Yellowtail shame Why, yes he could! ever again Within a year, he was spending just that little more on a bottle makes

£200 a month on a case and giving me detailed notes of the ones he liked. He

buy from you. As an independent wine

It was all so wonderful. People really

dislikes – and you think that relationship

introduced me to his friends – and one or two became regular customers as well. understanding the merits of drinking

less but better, and supporting their local independent wine shop.

Then, I didn’t see him so much. The

cases became less frequent and nearer the £150 mark. In October, he popped his head around the door and said he was going dry for the month. Stop-

effing-tober. He returned in December for a Christmas case and I hadn’t seen him again. I asked one of his friends if

everything was OK – trying not to sound desperate at the sudden loss of a source of income. Perhaps he’d lost his job,

perhaps he was ill, perhaps his house

renovations had finally started and he’d

temporarily moved away. Apparently, this customer was just fine and dandy.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 7

merchant, you invest time in them, you learn about their lives, their likes and

is mutual. But customers can be fickle.

They may come into your shop regularly

for a period of time and then they change their shopping patterns for no particular reason. In the case of this customer, he simply reverted to how he used to buy

wine without giving any thought to how it might impact my business.

A couple of weeks later, he does pop in

for a couple of bottles. “Anything new?” he says, cheerily.

I smile. Neither

of us mention “the incident”. I’m just glad to see

him back in my shop.

Crebers deli joins Totnes wine family

Hasty despatches from the frontline of wine retailing

tried & Tested Pfaffl Grüner Veltliner Zeisen 2017

Domeniile Franco-Române Crai Nou Pinot Noir 2012

Everyone loves Grüner but some examples can be a

The byline of winemaker Denis Thomas proudly

stable. Yes, there’s plenty of zip and zest and a healthy

Romania’s prestigious Dealu Mare region, it’s an

appears on the label, and why not – he used to work

little one-dimensional. Not so with Pfaffl, a producer

for Moillard in Burgundy, after all. Hailing from

just north of Vienna that’s recently joined the Enotria

authentic, organic and earthy Pinot, with a bloody

dollop of fruit, but it’s the exotic wafts of incense and

juiciness that makes you salivate for another glass.

spice that really take this wine to another level. RRP: £15

RRP: £15

ABV: 12.5%

ABV: 13%

Bancroft Wines (020 7232 5470)

Enotria & Coe (020 8961 4411) enotriacoe.com

bancroftwines.com

Trizanne Signature Syrah 2015

Markham Vineyards Merlot 2015

Winemaker Trizanne Barnard works with fruit from Elim and, in this case, Swartland, where she sources

Merlot seems to have rehabilitated itself in California

of ripe Syrah, with a succulence and elegance that

of Cabernet and Syrah in the mix, and 16 months of

grapes from four parcels on two farms. It’s cool-climate viticulture but it celebrates the vibrancy and happiness others might have been tempted to rein in. A wine with a future, but which is ready to party right now. RRP: £14.99

ABV: 13.5%

Alliance Wine (01505 506060)

in these post Sideways times and this Napa example

deserves an open-minded hearing. There’s a little bit ageing in French and American oak, creating a soft, spicy wine with notes of cola and black cherry. RRP: £32

ABV: 14%

Richmond Wine Agencies (020 8744 5550)

alliancewine.com

ellis-wines.co.uk

Fleur Haut Gaussens La Bergeronnette Cabernet Franc 2016

El Esteco Old Vines Torrontes 2016

A second single varietal following the success of

quite clicked in the UK, yet these pergola-trained

Malbec, classed as Bordeaux Supérieur. Beautifully poised, rounded red fruit: there’s so much silky elegance going on here that the world seems to suddenly go into slow motion as you imbibe. RRP: £22.50

ABV: 13.5%

Berry Bros & Rudd (01582 722 538)

If we’re honest, Torrontes is a variety that has never

vines dating from 1945, grown at high altitude in the

Calchaqui Valley in Chile, show us what it’s capable of. It’s got the fresh sherbety twang you’d expect, but a depth and complexity that maybe you wouldn’t. RRP: £14.20

ABV: 12.5%

Enotria & Coe (020 8961 4411)

bbr.com

enotriacoe.com

Il Folle Nero d’Avola 2016

Koch Cserszegi Fűszeres Hajós-Bajai 2016

Il Folle means “the mad one”, but the only crazy thing about this wine is the value for money it represents.

Koch Csaba inherited a few lines of vines from his

towards thoughts of volcanoes. It’s a warming and

well as international varieties. This is an aromatic and

It comes from Sicily and has the kind of soft, pumice-

stone minerality that does make an excited mind drift fruity wine, packed with cherry and red fruit flavours that turn just a little darker on the finish. RRP: £9

ABV: 13%

Bancroft Wines (020 7232 5470) bancroftwines.com

grandfather in 1991 and has since been on a mission to

understand the DNA of Hungary’s indigenous grapes as Gewürz-like varietal, with lychee and citrus elements, but a clean, steely edge to the finish. RRP: £10.99

ABV: 13%

Alliance Wine (01505 506060) alliancewine.com

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 8

bits & BOBs FAVOURITE

THINGS Jonathan Cocker Martinez Wines, Ilkley

Favourite wine on my list Torremilanos Los Cantos Tinto, Ribera del Duero 2014. Being a Yorkshire

man I was always going to pick a wine which I think represents great value

and at £15.99 this is super stuff. Mainly Tempranillo with a splash of Merlot

Symington Family Estates, most

a number of broken bones. He returned

famous for Port production, is to build

to work the next day.

a dedicated winery for its growing portfolio of Douro DOC table wines. The new winery, ready by 2020, will be

built on its Quinta do Ataide property in the extreme north east of the Douro.

“This is a big investment decision for us

and it is based upon the fact that, after two decades, we are now extremely confident

of the quality of our table wines,” said Paul Symington.

Decanter, February 22

too! Black fruit, exotic spice, and coffee

Favourite wine and food match I am a huge fan of Pinot Noir, so a good

man in Spain who has helped Martinez build a fine reputation for Spanish

wines, and he has become a good friend too.

killed at his farm in Stellenbosch.

Back described his assailants as

“common gangsters”. “My heart goes out

to all the people that have lost their family members in the ongoing farm attacks,” he added.

12 months to September, Brits bought £1.2bn of gin, the equivalent of over 47

Favourite wine trip

Favourite wine trade person

winegrower Joubert Conradie was shot and

2017, in the on- and off-trades. In the

go down a treat with me.

Carlos Read from Winetraders. Our

In September last year, fellow

Sales of gin in the UK increased in

Burgundy with roast duck will always

picturesque countryside.

and “left for dead”.

Brits buy an extra 7m bottles of gin

aromas ooze out of the bottle.

with Alsace: the wine, the food and the

Back was set upon by three people and

beaten with a crowbar, rolled up in a carpet

The Drinks Business, February 14

from 35+year-old vines and organic

Alsace with Thorman Hunt. I fell in love

Magpie

Symington builds still wine facility

million bottles. The Douro winery will open by 2020

Charles Back ‘left for dead’ in attack

This is up by 7m bottles compared to the

same period the previous year. Decanter, February 12

• A fire at Ten Minutes by Tractor winery in Victoria destroyed the wine cellar and

Charles Back of Fairview estate in Paarl,

several vintage tractors. AU$500,000 worth

South Africa, has survived a brutal

of wine has been lost.

attack at his farm in which he suffered

The Drinks Business, February 26

winemerchantmag.com

Favourite wine shop Dunell’s Premier Wines, Jersey. A lovely range of wines with a great French

selection, and well priced due to the

Channel Island location. I particularly

like the Beaumont shop as it is right on the sea. Guaranteed to enhance your

holiday, and if you live there: lucky you.

01323 871836 winemerchantteam@gmail.com

Twitter: @WineMerchantMag

The Wine Merchant is mailed freely to the owners of the UK’s 860 specialist independent wine shops. Every one of them, as the previous sole exception to the rule has now closed down. The magazine is edited by Graham Holter. Printed in Sussex by East Print. © Graham Holter Ltd 2018 Registered in England: No 6441762

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 10

VAT 943 8771 82

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 11

merchant focus

A milestone at the mill Jane Cuthbertson never really intended to run her own wine shop. Yet it’s now 10 years since Barrica opened, and it’s a good excuse to throw a party and to look back over an eventful decade of business

t was a customer who pointed out

customers who are eating in.

to Jane Cuthbertson that a landmark

Initially, Barrica was strongest on

anniversary was approaching. “As

European classics but the focus has

people who know me will tell you, if there’s

shifted towards Portugal and Argentina.

any reason for a party, I’m up for it,” she

“I love the food, the wine, the people, the

says.

culture – everything from both countries,”

Barrica started life in Samlesbury, near

Cuthbertson says. “And it’s my shop, so I

Preston, before opening at Botany Bay, a

can specialise in those countries if I want!

converted mill near Chorley that’s now

“We have Châteauneuf-du-Pape and

home to dozens of independent traders.

Chablis Premier Cru, Macons and stuff like

For a couple of years the two shops ran in

that. But not the classical stuff we used

tandem but Cuthbertson is now focused

to do. We do buy parcels and one-offs at

squarely on Botany Bay, in a ground-floor

Christmas. And vintage ports I tend to do

unit that’s needed to expand three times since she arrived.

OK with.”

“We’ve probably got about 750 square

Cuthbertson: “Customers have become friends”

The development, just off the M61, has

here; there’s a herb shop; we’ve got a guy

feet, so it’s not massive – I’m constantly struggling for space,” she admits.

become a real destination for shoppers in

the north west, and provides Barrica with some useful neighbours.

“We’ve got a tea and coffee specialist

who does hog roasts; we’ve got a bakery; a very old fashioned sweet shop – so there’s

all sorts of stuff.” Barrica has an agreement with other tenants to serve wine to their

‘We’ve got about 450 wines now. We used to have 800 or 900, and when I look back at it I think that was far too many’ THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 12

The selection has been tightened up over

the years, and in January Cuthbertson had “a real cull – I’ve been quite ruthless”.

“I’ve changed my approach to the range,

so we’ve got about 450 wines now,” she says. “We used to have 800 or 900, and

when I look back at it I think that was far too many.

“If I went to a wine merchants I’d want

to see a decent range of Rioja and some Australian Shiraz, some Argentinian Malbec – and also I’d want to see

something a little bit different.” Croatian, Turkish and Greek wines are now on her agenda.

The specialism has inevitably broadened

beyond wine. “When we first started, I

just had one shelf of bottled beers from a

Bash raises cash for hospice Cuthbertson is celebrating her decade in business with Barrica’s Big Birthday Bash, which will be raising money for St Catherine’s Hospice in Preston.

local brewery and then that sort of grew

into one set of shelves, and then we took a

The event takes place in the function room of the nearby David Lloyd Club on April 14. For £25 a ticket, guests get a

neighbouring unit and filled that, then last

two-course supper and entertainment from a top local DJ.

but that’s a moveable feast – at Christmas

says. “It’s not until you have that personal connection that

Cutherbertson has “cut right back” on

as a company. We get inundated with requests for donations

June we doubled the space for beers.

A raffle and auction on the night will also boost funds.

we probably have 75. But they all have to

you see how amazing hospices are. So every year for the

wholesaling, but still spends one day a

and it just got ridiculous, so now we say St Catherine’s is our nominated charity.

“We usually have between 40 and 50 gins

earn their place on the shelf.”

week making deliveries. “Trying to get

money out of customers can be a challenge in itself,” she says. “While you’re chasing

money every month, I’m thinking just how

“My brother-in-law was in St Catherine’s,” Cuthbertson

last seven or eight years, we’ve supported St Catherine’s

“We used to have one big event in aid of them, with all profits going to the hospice. The first was the Barrica Ball; then we had the Barrica Barbecue, then the Barrica Bash. “The last one we did was three years ago and it was a ball. My target was £10,000 and we raised £21,293.”

much profit am I making?”

Barrica has won a trophy in the

Enterprise Vision Awards for customer service, and you sense that this is the

metric by which Cuthbertson prefers to be judged.

“We have a lot of customers who have

become friends and help out at events and things like that,” she says.

“What I’ve never wanted is a wine

merchants where someone comes in and

buys a case of wine and goes again. I want it to be inclusive.

“When we get new wines I get customers

to taste them as well. That does three

things. It gives us the reassurance that

we’re choosing the right sort of wines. It makes customers realise that we don’t

just buy off a list – there is work that goes into choosing a range. And if a customer

sees a wine that they’ve tasted, liked and

recommended on the shelf, they’ll go, ‘ooh,

I put that there, I helped choose that’ – and it makes them feel part of it, which is what I want.”

The Botany Bay shop has expanded three times since Barrica arrived

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 13

THE WINEMAKER FILES Charlie Holland, Gusbourne Charlie has been involved in making Gusbourne wines since 2008, but officially joined as head winemaker in 2013 and oversaw the building of the new winery. After studying business and marketing, he discovered his passion for winemaking whilst working in Australia. He went to Plumpton College to complete his winemaking studies before embarking on winemaking stints in France, Germany, New Zealand and California

It was never my intention to get into English wine. I always thought I’d be somewhere hotter, a bit more exotic and a bit more exciting I guess. However, the opportunity came

to work back in England and at just the right time – England is probably one of the most exciting and vibrant places to make wine today.

In the last 10 or 15 years there’s been a seismic shift to thinking: wow, we can create something really special. Watching the industry grow and change right before your eyes is fascinating: all the different styles and personalities coming on board.

England is absolutely New World because we don’t have any winemaking history. We’re still learning how to get the best out of our soils; the best ways to make wine. The

quality has improved dramatically in recent years, but I do believe we are just at the start of that journey. There is the potential to make some truly outstanding wines in England.

We have 14 different vineyards now and we have 40 different clones planted which all have different characters. Some ripen a bit earlier, some a bit later. Some tend to be more fruit-forward and some produce steely, mineral wines. It actually gives us a really

good pallette to do the blending with. Our Kent vineyards tend to be heavier, clay based soils, but you can also find sand, silt and marine deposits. We also have some sites in

West Sussex on chalk – some more loam, some more flint – so the idea is to have a nice patchwork of different types of soil that we can play with.

Being in complete control of your own vineyards is really important from a quality point of view. Where possible we’ll pick everything separately and press everything

separately and ferment everything separately. This year we have up to 200 components that we’re playing with. It’s a lifetime’s project, really. It’s really exciting.

We’re quite often the first in the country to pick for sparkling wine so we often do get quite ripe grapes. We tend to age our wines a bit longer: for our Brut and our Blanc de Blancs especially we try to have at least three years’ lees ageing. For an English wine

it’s more of a mature style. It’s usually four years from harvest to releasing a wine for us.

The first job offerwith I got independents was to work inwho a winery, at Angoves in McLaren Vale. and We want to work are looking for something different, My early days werechosen more laboratory but I got the wine bug andvery have consciously not to selland ourquality winescontrol through supermarkets. We are went to Roseworthy College. I came back to Angoves inthe 1976 and got to more and more committed to the independent sector as we feel this is best place hand-sell our involved. wines and tell the Gusbourne story.

Feature sponsored by Gusbourne www.gusbourne.com

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 14

Gusbourne Blanc de Blancs 2013 RRP £45 “Pale gold with a delicate mousse, this Blanc de Blancs blends classic Chardonnay characters of green apple, citrus and white fruit on the nose, with mineral notes and buttered toast complexity from extended lees ageing.”

Gusbourne Brut Reserve 2013 RRP £35 “This blend highlights red fruit aromas of cherry and strawberry, which develop into attractive fresh pastry notes with a touch of cinnamon and spice. With a bright streak of citrus fruit, the palate is clean and fresh whilst giving tones of soft stone fruit.”

Gusbourne Sparkling Rosé 2014 RRP £40 “Delicate pink, with soft summer berries and floral notes on the nose. The palate shows bright red fruits, driven by ripe strawberries, fresh cherries and redcurrants, with a crisp freshness and creamy, rounded texture on the finish.”

AT BR

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10am - 5.30pm THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 15

better uses for burgundy domaine names

‘I’m spiralling into a Pisse-Loup!’

Yes, we’ve already done this with Bordeaux châteaux. But there are still plenty of definitions crying out for words, so this time we’ve raided Burgundy for inspiration

CHICOTOT

DAMPT

MUGNIER

A small morsel of jamon, Epoisses or water

The correct term for the circle left imprinted on

Name mockingly applied by colleagues of a

biscuit hurriedly gulped during the preparation

a white tablecloth by a clumsily-poured bottle

merchant who has made an absolute ass of

of platters intended for lunchtime customers

of red wine. When a customer notices they have

themselves by ballsing up the public removal of a

or guests at a tasting. Typically three or four

made a dampt, they will invariably try to repeat

cork. Typically there will be much straining before

chicotots will be consumed: sufficient to

the feat four more times to recreate the Olympic

the cork splits in two, and efforts to retrieve the

persuade the ingester that a

logo, only to discover that the fourth and fifth

bottom section produce a

proper meal is unnecessary, but

rings are frustratingly invisible.

crumbling mess. “And you’re

not enough to prevent a dizzy

meant to be the professional!”

spell and wobbly limbs later on.

guffaw the onlookers.

GOUFFIER

RUFFIN

PISSE-LOUP

Descriptive of any humorous “thought for the

That cheapo bottle of something or other from

An online battle of nerves between two or more

day”-type message chalked on to the blackboard

Bulgaria, Riverland or some Italian cantina that

merchants, all of whom are determined to

or disseminated on your social media feed. “Save

isn’t quite nice enough to write a shelf note about

beat the others on price as a point of principle,

water – drink wine!!” is an entry-level example.

but makes a useful – and perfectly adequate –

even if it means taking margins into minus-

“You can’t buy happiness,

makeweight in a mixed case. Discussions about

figures territory. Participants understand that

but you can buy wine, and

ruffins are best avoided, as

such behaviour is futile and

that’s kind of the same

there is a real risk they will

destructive, but sometimes

thing!!” is one rung up the

turn out to be the customer’s

you just have to stand your

gouffier ladder.

favourite wines of the selection.

ground. Right? Right?

CHANZY

PROFFIT

QUIVY

Nickname applied to a pub or restaurant owner

The intangible sense of wellbeing that derives

The brief moment when a merchant’s finger

who opened an account with you and nodded

from running a wine shop that generates just

hovers over the till or tablet while ringing up a

enthusiastically at your eager suggestions of

enough cash to keep its owner alive, but able

sale, during the thought process of whether or

staff training, exclusive-label Palo Cortado and

to enjoy a lifestyle replete with luxury cuvées,

not to apply a discount. This pause alerts the

winemaker dinners, but now merely

splendid lunches, lifelong friends and the

customer to the indecision, which means (a) the

haggles over the price of bargain-

occasional overseas jaunt.

gesture now seems a lot less generous than it

basement Prosecco and settles

It might be more lucrative to

should have done, or (b) that hopes

invoices five months late, partly in

work the tills at Asda. But

are cruelly raised for a discount that

meat raffle tickets.

nothing like as much fun.

doesn’t materialise at all.

GRIVOT

RONGIER

PERDRYCOURT

Any foreign body observed in wine during the

One of those beliefs or opinions held by a regular

Interminable bureaucratic correspondence

final sips. Should one occur in a customer’s glass,

customer that is completely misguided but has

between a merchant and officialdom of any

the grivot can always be explained away as a

been espoused far too often for you to correct it

kind. This may involve the dimensions and

harmless tartrate crystal. In one’s own glass, it’s

now. “Vintage Champagne is more alcoholic than

GPS location of an A-board, quibbles over the

either the result of some tasteless humour on the

non vintage”; “Rioja is my favourite

shade of blue that you’ve painted your

part of a sadistic vineyard

grape variety, especially the Spanish

frontage, or an exploded diagram of an

worker, or polonium put

type”; “I put that Chenin I bought

Enomatic machine and reasons why it

there by the bloke you

last week in the freezer to make ice

won’t precipitate the end of civilisation

sacked last month.

wine”. That kind of thing.

in your particular market town.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 16

just williams

Not everyone is tired of high street eateries

Stuck in the middle Restaurant chains are having a tough time, partly because they are caught in the no-man’s-land between cheaper rivals and the fine dining experience. Are wine drinkers also bored with the happy medium, or is there still room for mainstream products?

or places that specialise in the culinary middle of the road,

mid-market restaurants attract a surprising level of passion. At the very least, there’s been a certain amount of relish in

the responses to what the FT has called “the casual dining crash”, in which some of the biggest names of what had been one of the past decade’s most buoyant sectors – such as Byron, Strada and

schadenfreude-magnet Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Italian and Barbacoa – have announced losses, profit warnings, large-scale outlet closures and radical restructuring.

According to the more hardnosed of the analyses I’ve read, the

reasons for this sudden plunge in popularity are various, but they

amount to a perfect storm: overambitious and complacent chains, increasingly backed by short-termist venture capital and lured by cheap credit and eager high-street landlords looking to fill

empty units, simply over-estimated the British appetite for casual dining. As costs (staff, food, rents, business rates) have risen (not least post-Brexit), so margins, already wafer thin, have all but disappeared.

Aside from the market conditions, there’s also an issue of

competence, a sense that some of the brands involved just aren’t

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 18

really very good at what they do, that their customers have simply

tired of their formulae. That’s an easy conclusion to draw when, as Jay Rayner said of Jamie’s Italian, the offer is “increasingly ersatz

Britalian with a menu full of annoying dish titles such as crunchy Italian nachos”.

But I also wonder if the travails of some chains are part of a

wider issue, a general feeling that the middle of the road – that

narrow strip of territory where you are neither trying to be the best nor the best value, where you’re neither homespun and

independent nor egregiously global and corporate – is actually the most difficult part of any market to get right.

That’s certainly true of the wine business, at all parts of the

supply chain. In a world where it’s apparently possible to make a

profit from selling secondhand books for 1p a pop on Amazon, the business model for the high-volume bulk business is easy enough to understand: it’s all about scale, quality is secondary, marketing minimal, and you make your money by harvesting as many minuscule margins as possible.

At the other end of the scale, the pitch for a putative fine wine

brand may be difficult, not to say expensive, to pull off, but it’s not

exactly complicated on paper: you’re simply making the best wine

David Williams is wine critic for The Observer

Lidl and Aldi work on the assumption that, while you may well be able to buy something better, you won’t be able to find anything drinkable cheaper

you can, and selling it for as much as you think you can (or in some

by firms who, whether through choice or circumstance, have to

certainly in the UK – at the moment are polar opposites. On the

are in the business of selling something deeply unglamorous and

rare, admirable cases, should) get.

In retail, meanwhile, most of the successful businesses –

one hand, Lidl and Aldi work on the assumption that, while you

may well be able to get something better, you won’t be able to find anything drinkable cheaper, although you’ll have to go through a pretty miserable, striplit, impersonal experience to get hold of it. And, at the other

extreme, most independents offer a pitch that,

while not precluding a sense of value for money, are much more about quality, personal service – you

might call it humanity – and a sense that you get what you pay for.

Much the same dynamics apply for the third piece of the puzzle, suppliers: the thriving

businesses tend to be either specialists who make a virtue of their unique offer, insider

knowledge and small teams; or the big guys with their something-for-everyone ranges,

economies of scale, sales teams and supplychain efficiencies.

In each case, the space in the middle is

looking more and more squeezed, occupied

come to terms with a difficult conundrum: like Liberal Democrats in a system that has gone back to its old two-party ways, they increasingly unfashionable, compromise.

But if this is a difficult reality in which to succeed, it’s not

impossible. Indeed, there are lessons to be learned from the

current casual dining crash for the wine sector in seeing who

has emerged from the current mess with their reputation – and customer base – intact.

Whether or not you actually enjoy eating in them, it can’t be denied that Wagamama and Nando’s have very clear and well-

executed approaches, from which they have barely deviated even as they’ve expanded. Both offer predictable but reliable food of

good quality that may not surprise or inspire but – unlike certain fast-food chains – doesn’t leaving you feeling vaguely ashamed when you’ve finished eating, and all served in pleasant, buzzy surroundings.

There are equivalents already out there in the wine business.

Well-executed brands such as Torres, Villa Maria and Concha y

Toro, the latter-day Oddbins in retail, or a supplier such as Hatch

Mansfield, all show that, while it may be congested and confusing, sometimes the middle of the road is where you find a happy medium.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 19

retail news

There are roughly as many independent book stores in the UK as there are independent wine shops

Book sellers are on the same page Indies join forces to fight multiples

ccording to the Booksellers Association, there are 868

independent book shops in the

UK. If that figure has a familiar ring to it, that’s possibly because it’s remarkably

close to the specialist independent wine shop total, which The Wine Merchant currently puts at 860.

The similarities between the sectors

don’t end there. Independent book

retailers are irritated by the second-

class status afforded to them by some

major suppliers and are planning to band together to increase their bargaining

power with publishers.

together. “There are two main wholesalers,

before Christmas Waterstones did an

“We’ve had conversations with them and

Simon Key of London’s Big Green

Bookshop is leading the charge. “Just

exclusive edition of the new Philip Pullman book,” he says.

“They’d obviously done a deal with the

publishers and they got 5,000 copies of

the book, a lovely hardback for £35, signed by Philip Pullman. It kind of touched a

nerve – that’s £175,000 that independent bookshops cannot have.”

Key accepts that such deals are a feature

of normal business. But he believes indies can and should be part of the action.

“I thought if 200 independents got

together, they’d be in the same position as Waterstones and we could perhaps

negotiate for our own exclusive editions among other things,” he says.

So far 125 book sellers have expressed

an interest in some kind of coming-

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 20

Bertram and Gardners, and they deliver

to independent book shops,” Key explains.

they’re keen to get involved too and be part of the process.

“What’s also really encouraging is how

positive the publishers have been, because it’s not just the bookshops that struggle

to deal with the publishers – it’s the other way round as well.

“Imagine a publisher trying to go around

250 different book shops to see how many books they want to buy – three, two, five,

10. If there’s one central point we can say,

‘OK, these 250 shops will take 2,000 copies of this book, what discount could you give us?’

“Publishers are really happy that

something like that could possibly happen. No one loses. That’s the good thing about it.”

wine merchant buyers’ trip

The lure of the Loire The Wine Merchant teamed up with InterLoire to take 11 independents to Vinovision, the cool-climate wine fair in Paris, where Loire producers took centre stage. There was plenty of business to be done

f you could only drink wines from one

region for the rest of your life, the Loire Valley would keep most people happy.

Luscious sweet wines, bracing whites,

succulent reds and refreshing rosés … the

list goes on and pretty much every taste is

catered for. Which is why, when we offered independent merchants the chance to visit the Vinovision show in Paris, there was no shortage of takers.

Erik Laan of The Vineking in Surrey says it “really mattered to us to get out there and find some new things”.

“I’d say the Loire provides some of our

most important whites,” he adds. “The UK’s obsession with Sauvignon actually started in the Loire, of course.

“We found some good value Touraine.

I also quite enjoy some of the Côt – the

Malbecs down there. Some of the crémants Steve Hodden of

ArtisVin in Eastbourne met Marc Hough of

Cork of the North in

Manchester at the fair

and found he had similar

‘We found some cracking Chinon, one possibly the finest we’ve ever had’

are also really good.”

tastes to his northern counterpart.

“Marc and I are going to start shipping

stuff from Ackerman, which could really work for us,” he says. “We tried three

Muscadets, and I’d happily take all three. There’s one really premium one, which

was astounding. Very full bodied, very rich, almost like a Savennières.

“There were a few good Chinons there

and we’re really keen to take some in.

Every time we’ve had it in, it’s sold well. We found some cracking Chinon and

one is possibly the finest we’ve ever had. Just exceptionally smooth and velvety;

everything Chinon should be and more. I fell I love with that.

“There were some outstanding crémants

so I think we’re going to take a few of those on.

“The Loire is always a strong region for

us. We’ve got a nice wine selection and I’m looking forward to expanding that.”

John Greenwold of Winefantastic and Wine-boutique in Suffolk describes

the Loire as “a fantastic source” for his business. “Certain generics are very

reliable and work well for us: Muscadet,

Touraine Sauvignon and that kind of thing. There’s enormous potential,” he says. “I am going to start shipping some

Saumur-Champigny that I found at the

show … the quality is very, very high. Never mind where they’re from, they were very

A Cabernet Franc vineyard in Saumur-Champigny

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 22

good for the price. They’ll retail at £15 or

more indie feedback

“It was great meeting with the producers and I’ll soon be planning with my partners a trip to some of those vineyards. In the Loire Valley with the Chinon and the Sauvignon you get some really interesting and quite affordable wine.” Amaury Levisalles, Authentique, north London Loire producers were some of the main attractions at Vinovision “I think Loire crémant has got better

£16 and stand up very well to wines from

young, fresh Cabernet Franc, which I think

Nigel Pound, former owner of The

that fits the bill. They came from Anjou,

other regions.”

Totnes Wine Company who still acts as a consultant for the business, agrees there

was “lots of fantastic stuff” on display from Loire producers.

“It was really nice to try a lot of the

is part of the future for the Loire. We need to think more about lighter red wines and mainly, and also the well-known areas.” Pound was impressed by Coteaux du

Layon and Coteaux de l’Aubance wines,

whose sweetness makes them perfect both

and I think customers are starting to know about it. I’ve been asked quite a bit about it because people travel, and you don’t see it around very much. It’s a Champagne-method sparkling which offers value from money and can often be very good.” Chix Chandaria, The Wine Parlour, Brixton

as aperitifs and after-dinner wines.

“In England we don’t do aperitifs right,”

he says. “We have a gin and tonic or a pint of beer but the continentals will have a

slightly sweet aperitif because that raises the appetite, and that’s the idea.

“The Coteaux du Layon and some

Coteaux de l’Aubance particularly tick that box. They’re great with soft cheeses too.” He adds: “The first wine trip I went

on was in about 1979 and the son of the owner of the first château I went to see,

Domaine de la Rochette [in Pouillé], was there at Vinovision.

“It was great to talk to him and we will

Jean-Martin Dutour, president of InterLoire

be importing some of his stuff. He makes a Cabernet Franc, a Cabernet rosé and a special cuvée as well.”

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 23

“When I was studying French I had a year in a school in the Loire and I fell in love with the region then. In fact it’s probably quite influential in my going into the wine trade in the first place. One thing that inspired me was that you taste wines there that you just will not taste anywhere else. They are so individual.” Susan McCraith MW, Davis Bell McCraith Wines, Bristol

Life’s too short to drink supermarket wine. The Wine Merchant Top 100 is the only competition that’s devoted solely to wines on sale in the independent trade. All our judges are independent merchants themselves. If you supply the kind of wines that help make the independent sector the most vibrant and exciting part of the UK wine scene, visit www.winemerchanttop100.com now for details of how to enter this year’s competition. Winners will be featured in a Wine Merchant magazine supplement and showcased at the London Wine Fair.

London Wine Fair: bigger, better and more inspiring than ever

ondon Wine Fair is back with a bang for 2018, with a

brand-new team promising a packed show of inspiring

features, innovative tastings, critical masterclasses and

over 14,000 wines from 40 countries, making it an unmissable event for independent merchants. Registration is now open

and is free to anyone in the wine trade. Visit londonwinefair.

com to sign up and stay on top of the latest news coming from the show.

“We’re making this year the best and buzziest yet,” says show

director Hannah Tovey. “This is the time of year that the whole

wine industry comes together to do business and network, and we’re planning to make sure everyone leaves the fair inspired with new connections, new wines and new ideas for the next 12 months.”

Features for 2018 include: • A brand-new Innovation Zone designed to inspire, with future tech and trends from the wine trade and beyond, from AI to blockchain, logistics innovations and wine apps.

• Drinks Britannia – Discover English

sparkling wine, craft gin, beer and more

• Champagne Live – A celebration of the finest

Introducing the London Wine Fair app

producers, featuring three tasting trails and live streaming from vineyards in Champagne

• Boost your knowledge in the Education Zone from

For the first time, the show is going mobile.

Download the official London Wine Fair app and access

WSET, including the chance to take your Level 3 entrance exam

interactive floorplans, a searchable exhibitor list and a

Esoterica returns

exhibitors, making sure you are seeing exactly who you need to.

free of charge

• Plus masterclasses and tastings from Lafite to Uruguay.

As well as the exciting new areas, London Wine Fair is bringing back one of the most popular parts of the show, Esoterica, a dedicated area for small, quality importers.

Esoterica is the perfect opportunity to discover rare and

niche wines that aren’t available from anyone else.

With a casual table-top set-up, this is your chance to get up

close and personal with the best small-scale importers and uncover some of the world’s most exciting wines.

personalised schedule, as well as a meeting booking system, allowing you to pre-book on-stand meetings direct with

More announcements still to come

The London Wine Fair team are focused on making this show the best yet for merchants, and are busy behind the scenes creating yet more unmissable features.

The only way to make sure you find out about them first, and

to get first access to meeting slots with exhibitors, is to register to attend. Visit londonwinefair.com to sign up for your free entry badge.

Feature sponsored by London Wine Fair

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 25

reader survey 2018

Not everyone’s feeling flat It’s been a challenging year for independent wine merchants as prices rise and consumers feel the squeeze. Yet many retailers have put in resilient performances and are determined to make the most of the opportunities that exist, despite the Brexit confusion

ast year’s reader survey showed that confidence among independents was sagging a little. This year’s

findings suggest that merchants were right

to be worried: sales are 1% down, averaged out per shop, at a time when costs are rising (see page one).

Yet the independent trade as a whole

continues to see increases in store

numbers each year (there was a net gain of 31 shops in 2017) and despite the political and economic gloom, many merchants did

well last year. Among many, there is a sense that there is still money to be made as an

independent. It’s just that you may have to

how business is looking for a few dozen

many merchants had a pretty good 2017.

90% increase, opened a second shop last

work harder for it.

Our table opposite illustrates that

We’ve analysed the data provided by 41

independents who gave us turnover figures both this year and last, and it’s clear that there were winners as well as losers. Of course, these are in many cases

heavily rounded figures and we can’t verify their accuracy. (In fact, one or two outliers, which pointed to particularly extreme

upward or downward trends, have been stripped out.) Even so, we get a sense of

How optimistic are you that your sales will increase in the coming 12 months? 60

The business topping the list, with a

year. Others which achieved spectacular increases are very young businesses on a steep growth curve. For larger, more

established companies, that growth was hard to come by in most – but not all – cases.

If we just analyse the results from

this sample of 41, the picture is more

encouraging than the wider data suggests.

Sales for this group were up, on average, by 3.3% per business.

The proportion of merchants who

are “very confident” of a sales increase Fairly optimistic

this year is 22.3%, down from 27.2%

last year. It’s actually the lowest figure

we’ve recorded in six years of running the

survey. But it’s compensated for, to some degree, by those who say they are “fairly

Very optimistic

Neutral Fairly pessimistic

Very pessimistic 0

merchants.

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Number of responses: 178 in 2018; 151 in 2017; 150 in 2016; 118 in 2015; 117 in 2014; 99 in 2013.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 26

confident”, which is 51.4%, ahead of the

42.4% recorded in 2017. So overall 73.8% of respondents are optimistic about their

prospects in the year ahead, compared to 69.5% in the 2017 poll.

The proportion saying they are

pessimistic to a greater or lesser degree stands at 8.4%, more or less where we

were last year – and comfortably below the 11.1% recorded back in 2013.

How turnover has changed Survey partner 2018

How some independents are approaching 2018

Unpredictable trade ‘is a problem for all retailers’ The main issues worrying independents are fairly obvious, and once again Brexit comes across as the main cause for

concern. But merchants are also spooked

by rising costs, growing competition, and the shortfall in the 2017 vintage in many parts of the world.

“Within a difficult and uncertain

environment, I think we will have to work harder than ever to maintain sales,” says one East Anglian merchant.

A Scottish merchant adds: “Uncertainty

with Brexit and price increases against

internet rivals puts retailing in a precarious position.”

According to an independent in North

Yorkshire, “retail is very unpredictable at

the moment – all quality retailers say the

2017 sales

2018 sales

% change

£300,000

£569,923

+90

£200,000

£322,354

+61.2

£250,000

£350,000

+40

£215,000

£300,000

+39.5

£400,000

£521,000

+30.3

£500,000

£650,000

+30

£1,300,000

£1,670,000

+28.5

£540,000

£650,000

+20.4

£272,000

£320,000

+17.6

£220,000

£250,000

+13.6

£440,000

£500,000

+13.6

£235,000

£266,000

+13.2

£4,000,000

£4,500,000

+12.5

£335,000

£369,333

+10.2

£1,050,000

£1,150,000

+9.5

£550,000

£600,000

+9.1

£370,000

£400,000

+8.1

£536,000

£576,602

+7.6

£1,400,000

£1,500,000

+7.1

£1,243,000

£1,315,000

+5.8

£818,352

£861,761

+5.3

£1,011,557

£1,050,000

+3.8

£3,900,000

£4,000,000

+2.6

£300,000

£200,000

£1,800,000

wine trade,” he says. “Since the election last

£2,000,000

£300,000

any better.”

£225,825

£220,540

-2.3

same thing in our town, so not just the

year it’s been volatile. Brexit is not helping and I don’t see the next 12 months getting

Another East Anglian trader says: “Sales

seemed to have reached a plateau partly due to increased prices and partly due

to the economic situation, meaning less

disposable income. This is true not just for wine but most non-essential purchases.” Some merchants talk about “playing

safe” in the coming year as they ride out

the economic and political turbulence. But others say they will be taking a proactive approach.

“There is a lot of pressure to keep ahead Continues page 28

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 27

£600,000

£580,000

-3.3

£1,300,000

£1,250,000

-3.8

£2,829,773

£2,678,143

-5.4

£934,000

£883,000

-5.5

£220,000

£202,000

-8.2

£1,800,000

£1,650,000

-8.3

£464,166

£425,000

-8.4

£3,800,000

£3,460,150

-8.9

£2,000,000

£1,800,000

-10

£450,000

£400,000

-11.1

£1,000,000

£850,000

-15

Table shows reported sales of 41 merchants who provided data in both 2017 and 2018, ranked in order of percentage change in turnover. 23 saw an increase, 6 were static and 12 registered a fall.

reader survey 2018 From page 27

11% Are very or fairly likely to open additional branches in the coming year (2017: 13%)

of the game with new concepts and ideas, says Sam Jackson of Chester Beer &

Wine. “We feel the need to be more than

just a wine shop with new events, tastings

and products. The public seems to expect a lot more than 10 years ago.”

Stephen Murphy of The Wine Factor

in Chingford, north east London, says:

“Although I think that high street retailers

“The internet is the greatest cause of

concern with regards to consumers’ buying habits and so retailers have to offer a

reason for these consumers to enter.”

bottles,” says Euan McNicoll of McNicoll & Cairnie in Broughty Ferry.

media will help develop sales, along with customer-focused supplier visits. For

example I will be taking key customers

to visit gin distillers, independent whisky bottlers, and so on.”

Are very or fairly likely to try to sell the business in the coming year (2017: 3%)

Services in Canterbury is in that camp.

“We see a good future for independents

How sales are split Online 4.4% Wholesale 19% Other 4.9%

Shop 71.7%

Jefferson Boss of StarmoreBoss in

Number of responses: 168 The share of turnover from shop sales (which includes on-premise takings) is up from 68.4% last year, while online’s share has declined from 5.7%. The proportion of sales going through wholesale is down from 20.7% last year.

Sheffield sounds a similar note. “Although

offering sound advice,” he says, “and a

concentrating on being able to provide a

with a more event and experience-focused

external factors like the economy are

better service to our customers through customer loyalty, finally sorting out our

online sales and information, and creating

a wine club in order to increase our sales.”

Clive Barlow MW of Press Wine

budget weeknight wines as well as special

creating their own sets of worries, we are Are very or fairly likely to reduce staff numbers in the coming year (2017: 3%)

outlook remains hopeful.

becoming better known for having good

“We believe that increased social

Are very or fairly likely to increase staff numbers in the coming year (2017: 47%)

feeling among many independents that the

the coming years, I think that they need to

“Our reputation locally is key, but we are

43%

Despite all the challenges, there is a

are finding it, and will find it, difficult over adapt.

Are very or fairly likely to close one or more branches in the coming year (2017: 2%)

willing to try something different.”

“As the range grows, so does the

expectation of stocking more wines,” says

Tim Watson of The Grape to Glass Wine Shop & Tasting Room in Rhos-on-Sea on the north Wales coast.

“As we have introduced wine by the

glass, and BYO food, the space has become increasingly popular, and customers are

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 28

range of wines giving value, quality and

interest at different price points combined approach.”

Mark Wrigglesworth of The Good

Wine Shop in London sums up what many are thinking with a bullish assessment of the year ahead.

“We have confidence in our offering and

believe we can continue to build on the

successes of 2017, despite the uncertainty that Brexit brings,” he says.

“We are not going to allow the

uncertainty to dissuade us from advancing our plans.”

It’s now six victories in a row for Boutinot

Top 20 suppliers to independents Position (2017 in brackets)

Supplier

Votes received

% of retailers voting for this supplier

There’s no change at the top of this

1 (1)

Boutinot

34.4

year’s leader board of favourite wine

2 (2)

Liberty

27.3

suppliers, with Boutinot and Liberty

3 (3)

Alliance

21.4

occupying first and second spots

4 (4)

Hatch Mansfield

14.3

respectively for the sixth year in a row.

5 (6)

Enotria & Coe

11.7

6 (10)

Hallgarten

10.4

Among the top 10, Enotria & Coe,

Hallgarten, FMV and ABS all climbed

up the table. A little further down the

list there were creditable performances by Vindependents, Mentzendorff, Red

Squirrel, Armit, Daniel Lambert and Delibo. Every year the number of suppliers

mentioned increases, though this may merely reflect the growing number of survey participants. But it confirms

the increased level of choice available to independents, especially given the

emergence of smaller specialist importers. The average selling price for a bottle of

wine in a specialist independent wine shop has risen 63p to £12.25, compared to the market average of around £5.60, though average transaction values have slipped back to near 2016 levels.

Average margins per sales channel 35%

Fields Morris & Verdin

8.4

Awin Barratt Siegel

7.8

8 (8)

Fells

7.8

8 (5)

Les Caves de Pyrene

7.8

8 (6)

Thorman Hunt

7.8

12 (30)

Vindependents

6.5

13 (18)

Mentzendorff

5.8

14 (11)

Raymond Reynolds

4.5

15 (23)

Red Squirrel

4.5

16 (15)

Bancroft

3.9

17 (-)

Armit

3.2

17 (23)

Daniel Lambert

3.2

17 (30)

Delibo

3.2

17 (11)

Walker & Wodehouse

3.2

Number of responses: 153 Respondents were invited to name up to three suppliers that they most enjoy working with, in no particular order. No prompts were given. There were 110 suppliers nominated, compared to 103 in 2017 and 96 the previous year. Walker & Wodehouse votes include those cast for Bibendum.

Average transaction value

Shop salesWholesale 33.6% Online 32.5% Online

30%

7 (15) 8 (14)

Retail

£41.54 £43.17

25%

Wholesale 20.5%

20%

Average sales price per bottle

£44.93

£11.62 £12.25 2017

2018

£43.28 15%

2015

2016

2017

2018

Number of responses: 162 in 2018; 138 in 2017; 136 in 2015; and 108 in 2015

Number of responses: 156 in 2018; 132 in 2017; 131 in 2016; and 103 in 2015

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 29

Number of responses: 157 in 2018; and 131 in 2017

reader survey 2018

Which of these product areas will you be focusing on developing in the coming year?

Number of respondents: 159

B Speciality spirits

C British craft beer

Enthusiasm for spirits is holding strong, with figures very similar to those we recorded last year

Another solid second place for artisanal ales, though the “yes” vote slips from 53% last time No

Maybe Yes 66%

Maybe Yes 46%

Maybe 24%

Maybe 28%

No 9%

No 25%

Yes

D Imported beer

E Wine accessories

The proportion expecting great things from this category has crashed from 42% in 2016 and 25% last time

Up from fifth spot last year thanks to a small but significant increase in the “yes” vote for gadgets and gizmos No

Maybe Yes 18%

Maybe Yes 14%

Maybe 24%

Maybe 37%

No 57%

No 48%

Yes

F Glassware

G Delicatessen items

This year’s results are almost identical to those from 2017. A category that seems to have hit the glass ceiling

Another category with a stale performance. Cheese and ham have a problem. So what’s the cure?

Maybe Yes 13%

Maybe Yes 12%

Maybe 30%

Maybe 17%

No 55%

No 69%

Yes

H Confectionery

I Cigars and tobacco

The number of respondents interested in posh chocs and other indulgences has more than doubled

Almost a third of respondents back in 2014 had high hopes for this category, which is rapidly fizzling out

Yes 11%Maybe

Yes 2%Maybe

Maybe 21%

Maybe 12%

No 67%

No 85%

Yes

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 30

100

Bright future on cards for Portugal and Australia For the third year running, France increased its vote when we asked

Which countries of origin do you think will see the biggest sales increase in your business this year?

Yet also for the third year in succession,

ask merchants to name the countries or

That said, France still tops both league

for the various options we provided, such

2017

32% 33.8% 26.3% 21.1%

2016

23% 25.7% 33.3% 31.8% 21.8% 23.1% 27.7% 19%

8 Chile

as “Bordeaux”, “Languedoc”, “most or all

19% 15.5% 15.5%

regions” and so on.

performers in 2017 – have lived up to their

39.9% 27.4%

7 England

tables when we combine the votes cast

as South Africa and Spain – both star

33.3%

6 Spain

business over the coming year.

2018

31.3%

5 Portugal

regions they expect to do best in their

merely reflect the fact that countries such

43.5% 25.7%

4 Argentina

France has seen its vote slip when we

their votes decrease this year. This may

59.5% 36.9%

3 Italy

they specialise in.

prediction league table (top right) saw

54.4%

2 South Africa

merchants which countries or regions

Interestingly, most nations in our

49.7%

1 France combined

9 Australia

12.9% 16.2% 8.9%

10 New Zealand

10.9% 9.5%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Number of responses: 179. Respondents could name as many countries or regions as they liked. Only top 10 countries from the vote are shown. France was split into eight options, combined here.

promise and sales are now levelling out.

But it’s also a reaction to vintage shortages in many areas.

This year’s big winner is Portugal,

which hits a three-year high with 26.3% of

respondents predicting a big sales increase. Many independents have long been talking up the country’s potential, thanks in part

Which countries do you specialise in? Position (2017 in brackets)

Country

Votes received

% of retailers voting for this country

to the value it offers. Its run of decent-sized

1 (1)

France combined

136

79.5

2 (2)

Italy

40.4

3 (3)

Spain

22.8

The other star performer is Australia,

4 (4)

South Africa

18.7

5 (6)

New Zealand

14.0

6 (6)

Australia

12.9

vintages, relative to much of the rest of Europe, also counts in its favour.

which is finally beginning to win round

its doubters with a selection of premium

wines that can challenge Old World classics on price.

In our countries of specialism chart, the

percentages are remarkably similar to last year’s, though Spain is significantly down from 28.4% last time and California falls

out of the top 10, down from 9.2% to 3.5%.

7 (8)

Portugal

9.9

8 (5)

Argentina

7.0

9 (10)

England

6.4

10 (12)

Germany

5.8

Number of responses: 171. Respondents were allowed up to three choices. France was split into eight options, combined here.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 31

merchant profile: MR & MRS FINE WINE

The mezzanine area to the rear of the retail space is designed for on-premise consumption

Moving up a level Not many merchants upgrade to larger premises as quickly as Chris and Gosia Bailey. But they knew that the former bank in Southwell would be the perfect home for their hybrid wine business

hris and Gosia Bailey set up their wine shop in the

Nottinghamshire town of Southwell four years ago – and moved to a new site within a year. They took over the

town’s former HSBC bank in the shadow of Southwell Minster,

and adopted a new name, The Wine Bank. Both it and the original

name, Mr & Mrs Fine Wine, appear on branding through the shop, Anita Mannion, September 2017 website and branded add-ons such as wrapping paper and bags.

When they set up the business, Chris was selling wine for

Accolade into markets including Dubai, India and the Caribbean.

For Gosia, it was a chance to return to work after raising a family, bringing her organisational and creative skills from a former career in office management to the business side of things.

“My boss was incredibly understanding,” says Chris. “I explained

we were going to be opening up a shop and it was going to be

Gosia’s company and he was all right with it. There was no conflict with the brands I was selling for Accolade.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 32

“They have some supremely premium wines but the mainstay

was bag-in-box, cheap juice and stack-it-high, sell-it-cheap in my markets.”

With a generous vacant Victorian space to play with at the new

site, Chris and Gosia were able to create an environment that

seamlessly combines on- and off-trade elements – retail on the

street side, blending into soft mustard leather banquettes and a

mezzanine seating area to the rear, with a high spec and luxurious feel throughout.

Before it was a bank, the building was the minster’s boys’ school,

‘Properties of this size don’t come up that often. We could see the potential but the scaling up was huge’

and what was the science block upstairs is now an inviting extra seating area which doubles up as an events space. There’s an

eight-bottle Enomatic at ground level and a four-bottle one in the overspill.

Why did you decide to open a wine shop in the first place? Gosia: We enjoy our wines but the nearest place to buy them was

Newark or Nottingham. It was crazy that there was nowhere else. We were driving past and there was a sign saying To Let and we thought, let’s give it a go.

Chris: I was still fully employed and it was going to be a sort of fulltime project for Gosia to get on board with. It was very apparent very quickly there was an appetite for what we were doing, so I ended up handing in my notice and committed to the shop full time.

Gosia and Chris took “an educated gamble” by moving to new premises

towards on-trade?

had it in mind that we’d need to move.

Has moving to a bigger premises changed the emphasis Gosia: Predominantly it’s retail but the Enomatics enable us to

offer tasters and run as a wine bar. We were doing tastings before

but having to hire out village halls. We knew the demand was there but it was just frustrating. We outgrew the space very quickly and

Chris: Properties of this size don’t come up that often. We could see the potential but the scale up from there to here was huge:

we’re talking about 15 square metres to about 90 to 100 square

metres. It’s a significant change, not just in space but in overheads, business rates and the fact that the hours were going to be longer and we had to get in staff.

Did the locals respond well to the change? Chris: It was an educated gamble that we were taking. It’s a pretty aspirational town with some big companies in the area and a

lot of people who commute down to London. There are some

sophisticated people who do want wine. In the town there are

good pubs that are all selling wine but it’s typically the 10-litre

bag-in-box thing, nothing of note. We’d gauged a little bit of the demand and felt we could make a success of it, but it’s actually been significantly better than we anticipated. The Victorian building was a boys’ school before becoming a bank

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 2016 33

Continues page 34

merchant profile: MR & MRS FINE WINE From page 33

Was it an easy decision to go for Enomatics? Chris: I can understand why others are reluctant to buy into the concept. It’s huge capital investment but cheaper than another

member of staff to serve by the glass. The machines give us a huge USP. It sets us apart from other merchants in the area and other drinking establishments in the town.

Gosia: At first people came in and looked at it like a spaceship had landed. They couldn’t understand the concept. Now, we’re almost on the guided tour of Southwell. People will take their visitors to see the minster and then bring them in here to see the Enomatic machines. It’s extraordinary.

We have regulars who come in week-to-week and they know

they’ll see different wines. You go into a pub or a restaurant and

Gin is also available from an Enomatic machine

the wine list stays the same pretty much all year round. We had

Vindependents. It’s owned by the members and they have

Chris: We’ve put anything from a £10 wine to a £100 wine on

in the growing phase so we’re slightly shielded from it, but Brexit

English for English Wine Week and a Chinese wine for Chinese New Year.

there. When we put premium Bordeaux on I was expecting them

to sit there. They disappeared because people are just fascinated by it.

influence over it, plus the exclusivity and the margins.

It is a really tough environment. We’re fortunate that we’re still

costs have gone up, duty costs went up at the beginning of last year as well, and other costs come into play, like pensions …

Gosia: … electricity … all the costs have gone up by a little bit, but

when you put them all in the pot it’s significant.

Chris: We’ve always had this industry standard 32% margin. I don’t

Are you reaching your targets here? Chris: We have a realistic target and an

really understand how that was set, who set it,

and why we should all adhere to it. It’s crazy. It’s

aspirational one. We’re some way off the

driven by the wholesalers I suspect, and I don’t

aspirational target but we expect to hit the

buy into it. The Vindependents give me a much

realistic target this year. We’re still in a growing

better margin, the range is continuously growing

period; just scaling up has given us growth. This

… we’re by no means greedy on price points, but

12 months will be the first time we’ll get a like-

where Vindependents are offering me 40%-45%

for-like comparison on a full trading year and

margin, of course I’m going to commit more to

already it’s ahead of where we expected it to be.

that. It’s easily 50% of the core range and, frankly,

The shop looks great. What is still to be done?

it’s probably going to increase.

Chris: A big focus I’ve got this year is to

What about other suppliers?

understand the range itself: what we’ve got, what we’re missing, and where we’re buying it from,

Chris: If they don’t have the time to come in and

part of our range is from Vindependents, which

independent.

understand what the business is about we’re not

just to make sure that we’re constantly giving

interested. They need to know what it is to be

customers something interesting and fresh. A big gives me the exclusivity I look for in our wines. A

big bugbear is some of the bigger suppliers where

you go online and see the same wine at almost the price we’re buying at, or that they’ve suddenly gone into multiples.

There are a number of things I get excited about with the

With my Accolade background I understand

why supermarkets are important to consumers

for access to wine but I think by offering them something different, by giving them information and that personal service, it really

sets us aside. But it’s not a cheap business to run, so for me it’s

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 34

incredibly important to find those suppliers that are willing to

support you, whether that’s by looking at individual pricing, or

providing samples, or coming to do tasting events or supporting us at the Wine Fair. All of these little things add up. Do you buy direct at all?

Chris: No, not really. We’ve done a bit of en primeur. We don’t have that kind of volume. I’m not comfortable committing to whole

pallets. A big focus for us is [building the shop’s own] wholesale

and once we build those sorts of volumes there’s no reason why we wouldn’t go direct.

‘The Vindependents give me a much better margin, at 40% to 45%, and the range is continuously growing’

What’s the sales split? Gosia: Online’s only about 1%, wholesale is 10% and the lion’s share is off- and on-trade in here. [Off-sales] retail is probably

and what we originally were at the other shop. When we took over

see a corresponding increase in online sales. It’s a very tactile

not call it the Wine Bank, then? For the on-trade side it sounds a

about 60%-65% of what we do. The website is more of a shop

window. We see our online traffic spike at Christmas but we don’t product and unless you’ve got confidence in the brand or know the wine I don’t think people are always happy to buy online. Why the two names for the business?

Gosia: Mr & Mrs Fine Wine is the name we’re registered under

this place, all the paperwork referred to “The Bank”. There was

no house number, it’s always just known as “The Bank”. So, why

bit better nipping down to the Wine Bank than to Mr & Mrs Fine

Wine. The company name when we’re talking to suppliers is Mr & Mrs Fine Wine and the shop name is The Wine Bank.

Continues page 36

The business is still in a growth phase and “already ahead of where we expected it to be” in the current financial year, Chris says

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 35

merchant profile: MR & MRS FINE WINE From page 35

How did you arrive at Mr & Mrs Fine Wine in the first place? Chris: Over a bottle of wine I expect. We bandied round loads of ideas and I think we just ran out of time.

Gosia: We knew what wines we wanted to do. We knew they had

to be stylish and have a bit of elegance. We didn’t want to go down the road of cheap, mass-produced wines. I knew Mr & Mrs Smith the travel company …

Chris: Not that there’s any association …

Gosia: People who know Mr & Mrs Smith know they’re getting

a certain quality with their holiday. You look at Greek names for

wine, or whatever, and they’re already taken. And we didn’t want it to be corny or clichéd. We had an agency come in when we

looked at rebranding for the move and what came through was

that it was about me and Chris selling you wine, about having that relationship with the customer, so it stayed.

Chris: With hindsight, the “fine” bit gave people a certain

expectation and there was some hesitation, so The Wine Bank was trying to open that door a little bit. We are now referred to as Mr

& Mrs Fine Wine around town by people who don’t know our real names.

The look is quite high-end. Chris: If someone’s coming in to spend £20 on what is essentially a

luxury item you’ve got to give them the whole theatre: the look, the

The wine range is “very French”

packaging, the wrapping. The fact that we haven’t got the cheap 5p bag … they’re expensive bags but you see people re-using them so we get quite a lot of marketing from them. We’re trying to create a premium atmosphere and a premium result from a premium purchase.

Gosia: We’re very aware that people don’t have to come in and pay £15 for a bottle of wine so it’s very important to give them that experience.

The Enomatic helps promote “slightly more obscure” wine regions

‘If someone is coming in to spend £20 on what is essentially a luxury item, you’ve got to give them the whole theatre’

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 36

The couple say it was worth the extra investment to achieve a look that wouldn’t resemble a pub

Chris: Service is absolutely paramount. You go into some wine

slightly more modern style, compared to the old-school pubs

don’t buy, because I want them to go away and talk about it.

plan it as one, instead of adding on-trade to an established wine

shops and they’re grumpy – it’s almost like you’ve interrupted

their day. I’m quite happy to pour customers a taster, even if they Gosia: Service is something we can control. Prices and rents are always going to go up but we’ve got control of the service and the brand and what we

around here. We were lucky that when we came in it was a blank canvas. We were able to incorporate the whole hybrid thing and shop.

What grabs the locals in wine?

want it to be.

Chris: It’s very French. Less Bordeaux, but

Gosia: That’s down to me. I didn’t want it

Jura, trying to bring slightly different wines

certainly Burgundy features very highly.

Who’s the designer?

We’re always trying things like Gascony and

to be too rustic or too modern. If people

into the mix – which is where the Enomatics

are coming to have a glass of wine they

come in to play massively, because we can

just expect to see that money’s been spent.

find slightly more obscure areas and put

The colours, the tones have to be right. We

them on the machine. People buy into them

could have gone for cheap flooring, or cheap

and get confidence in them and we can put

shelving. That shelving cost a heck of a lot

of money because it’s all been custom made.

It’s lot of investment. It had to be elegant and a little bit more sophisticated.

Chris: We also wanted to avoid being a pub. It’s got a lighter, airy,

them on more permanently.

Gosia: It’s really funny seeing the

traditionalists who say they’ll only drink Burgundy or Bordeaux.

You say: “Try this Lebanese wine, it’s based on a Bordeaux blend”, and they really enjoy it. Great, that’s our job done. Tick.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 37

premium australia

Aussies provide food f

The Fine Wine Partners team knew that the best way to put its new selectio before independents would be to enjoy them over lunch. So we booked re and Cardiff where 15 merchants could meet two winemakers, and put their

t all three lunches, Andrew

Hardy’s Croser Adelaide Hills

Sparkling NV got the proceedings

under way.

“It’s Methode Champenoise, which gives

you delicate bubbles and we think it suits us,” he explained. “It’s usually two thirds Pinot Noir and one third Chardonnay. “All the Pinot is hand-picked and

whole-bunch pressed; the Chardonnay

is a mixture of whole-bunch pressed and machine picking.”

Daydd Morris of Cheers in Swansea

and the £16.99 RRP.

Bordeaux and Sancerre. You get some nice

Noel Young, of the eponymous wine shop

in Cambridge, was impressed by the wine

“It’s delicious, it’s lovely,” he said. “It’s got

enough complexity to make it interesting to the more educated wine consumer,

but easy enough for someone who drinks Prosecco.”

Dafydd Morris of Cheers in Swansea

was also a fan and is planning to list the

wine. “It’s got good acidity, a nice texture

and I thought it was going to be a lot more expensive than it was, so I was nicely surprised,” he said. Croser Adelaide Hills Sparkling NV RRP £16.99 Petaluma White Label Sauvignon Blanc 2016 RRP £14.99 Petaluma Yellow Label Hanlin Hill, Clare Valley Riesling 2015 RRP £25.99 Petaluma Yellow Label Coonawarra Cabernet-Merlot 2015 RRP £38.99

Hardy declared that “the world is agog

with Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc” but

Petaluma White Label Sauvignon Blanc 2016 “is a completely different beast”.

He added: “It’s much more food-friendly

but not hit-you-over-the-head Sauvignon, more like a European Sauvignon. There’s more definition there. It’s more like

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 38

citrus and lemon and some nice secondary characters.

“In our home market this wine is seen as

a very good bistro, by-the-glass wine. It’s normally 10%-12% barrel-fermented in

new oak to give it that little bit of spicy lift; a little bit of char from the new oak.”

It’s another wine that Morris may list. “I

liked the style of the Petaluma Sauvignon;

it was a bit different, a bit more reserved. It wasn’t in your face,” he said.

Young added: “It’s above entry-level New

Zealand but still below Sancerre in terms

of price. I think a lot of New Zealand’s very much a gooseberry, elderflower, passion fruit character. Adelaide Hills is more

capsicum, green tomato, almost tomato leaf, with a bit of fruit. This is very nice

because it’s more restrained. The palate

in association with

for thought

Andrea Viera

Last Drop Wines, w

n of premium Australian wines estaurants in London, Edinburgh wines through their paces

just takes it away from that primary stuff.” Next up was Petaluma Yellow Label

Hanlin Hill, Clare Valley Riesling 2015 from a vineyard planted in 1968.

“It’s still hand-pruned and hand-picked,”

Hardy said. “It’s just starting to get that

lovely bottle age of toasted honey character that they get. It’s still got primary fruit, which I really like. It’s bone dry.

est London

I was really impr essed by the spar kling Croser: prob is most commer ably the Brut cial for me. At th at price point yo of the Proseccos u are beating ou and the quality is t all better than any of Champagnes. Pe the supermarket ople are feeling a bi t of a squeeze so them that quality to be able to giv at that price I think e could be a huge success. I’m familiar with Petaluma’s Rieslin gs and have enjoy but at lunch my ed them very muc new discovery wa h s the Adelaide Hi It was the star of lls Sauvignon Blan the lunch for me; c. it lacked all the ba of Sauvignon – th d characteristics e over-pungent no se and acidity. I approachable. It thought it was so was subtle, elega nt and for me a pe rfect white wine. I think Australian wines are moving towards an Old W in a good way. Th orld style, ey're just a little bit more subtle, grown-up. They're elegant and becoming matur e in a beautiful wa sometimes the wi y. Before, nes were great fu n, but a bit rough the edges. The Au around stralians are giving us really seriously well-made wines that are expressin g a lot more than they were be fore. Petaluma ha s always been a touch mor e elegant than a lot of them.

“I wouldn’t call 2015 a typical Clare

Valley year. It was a warmer year, a faster

vintage, but I think that’s ageing gracefully.” Paul Stringer of Jeroboams said the

wine “really stood out for me … it was exceptionally good”.

Phoebe Weller of Valhalla’s Goat in

Glasgow described it as “just beautiful”.

“It’s been so long since I’ve tried it,” she

added. “We all remember it from the non-

independent days so we’ve all got this idea of it. It’s such an iconic wine and to taste

it again on the back of all that has come in the intervening years and for it to taste so good … I couldn’t keep away from it!”

The fourth wine was Petaluma Yellow

Label Coonawarra Cabernet-Merlot

Andrew Hardy of Petaluma

2015, another wine made from vines dating back to the late 60s.

“There’s also little bit of Shiraz in there,”

Hardy explained. “It’s always been a wine

that we’ve made with a view to ageing. This one is Cabernet-dominant but Merlot’s a really important part of the blend, especially for the palate.

“Merlot in this region is really tannic and

“I love the freshness of this. 2015 was a

really rich and I think you get that on the

lovely vintage.”

aged for about 18 to 20 months in barrel,

happy.”

palate. There’s a lovely Coonawarra mint character. It’s 100% new oak, all French, depending on the vintage.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 39

Young’s verdict: “It’s quite sexy. I’m

thinking a bit of lamb with that and I’m

Continues overleaf

premium australia St Hallett Butcher’s Cart Barossa Valley Shiraz 2015 RRP £19.99 St Hallett Blackwell Barossa Valley Shiraz 2015 RRP £27.99 St Hallett Old Block Barossa Shiraz 2014 RRP £49.99

t Hallett was established in 1944 by the Lindner family, who had

originally been butchers. The focus

was on fortified wines until the 1980s.

Winemaker Toby Barlow said: “Our focus

has gone more and more towards Shiraz, which sounds obvious now, but back in the day it was the scattergun approach

with lots of different varieties planted and wines made.

“If we look at in the last 10 years we’ve

gone from Shiraz being about 45% of our

crush to about 83% last year. Give or take

we have 120 parcels of Shiraz in any given year from all over Barossa. Our footprint

is quite substantial in terms of all the little

Richard Ballantyne MW Noble Grape, Cowbridge moment and I think St for Aussie wine at the I’ve got a bit of a gap for me. p ga that Hallett is going to plug w ercially sound, great Ne sparkling. It’s a comm ke an ma ey Th . ng I really liked the Croser aki em ite impressed by the win that World sparkler. I was qu that one, but the fact sion – we didn’t taste ver t ct tha nta … co s s lee lee d the de on en ext en years sparkler with I think sev y ver me so ke ma n they have a premium ca g exaggerated lees agein is very interesting. That interesting wines. alia is one of the go-to was pretty good. Austr lley. The Petaluma Riesling rly – particula Clare Va places for dry Riesling was a delicious arra Cabernet Merlot The Petaluma Coonaw St Hallett the ed y good. I lov minty style – very, ver nty, that mi d an big s – it wa Butcher’s Cart Shiraz sa style. American-oaked Baros

sub-regions in Barossa that we source

Shiraz from. What we’ve got today are all

blends. These are expressions of different parts of the Barossa.”

First up was St Hallett Butcher’s Cart

Barossa Valley Shiraz 2015, a wine from a good vintage which has been seasoned well with American oak. Noel Young

applauded the move. “Everyone wants

to go down the French route but a bit of

American oak for me always makes a wine

more complex,” he said. “I think it’s a really smart wine.”

The wine also impressed Dafydd Morris

(“excellent value for money”) and Richard Ballantyne, who “loved” the “big and minty” style.

St Hallett Blackwell Barossa Valley

Shiraz 2015 is the company’s “oldest,

richest, most robust wine”, according to Barlow.

“It’s all about picking decisions,” he

explained. “We’re going for a ripe level

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 40

but I don’t want it to slip into being less

in association with

‘Everyone is going the French route, but for me American oak always makes a wine more complex’ defined. The line between black fruit and lifted aromas and it becomes stewed can

be a matter of days. An extra period of heat and you can easily lose the definition.” Noel Young said: “It’s a juicy, sweet

style with a lot of black fruit and olive

and a lot of savoury characters going on. It’s noticeably more structured than the

Toby Barlow of St Hallett

Butcher’s Cart.”

Appreciating Australia's varied terroir

made with fruit from vines in the Barossa

Has the moment finally arrived for regionality to play a central role in the Australian

The final wine to be served was St

Hallett Old Block Barossa Shiraz 2014, and Eden valleys with an average age of 80 or 90 years.

“Barossa has one of the largest

repositories of old-vine Shiraz in the world,” said Barlow. “It’s an amazing

resource. This wine has always been more stylistically away from the really big style of Barossa Shiraz.”

Dafydd Morris intends to add the wine

to his list. “Not a lot, as we don’t sell a lot

at that end,” he said. “But it’s always nice to have icon wines like that.”

sales story? Phoebe Weller of Valhalla’s Goat believes consumers are increasingly seeing things that way. “In fact I came back from the lunch and rearranged Australia according to region,” she said. “People have to engage in a very visceral, real way. There is a proportion of our customers who have family in Australia so people coming back from visiting are happy to spend money.” Archie McDiarmid of Luvians in St Andrews said that customers often build up regional awareness through loyalty to particular Australian producers. “There is an increasing understanding that there are regional differences,” he added. “As much as anything else that is down to the Australians themselves: Australian winemakers talk about their terroir more than most French winemakers! “The old whole multi-region blend, which is what Australia built its wine reputation on, is definitely becoming less commonplace.” Paul Stringer of Jeroboams believes regionality is most relevant at premium price points. He argues that the Australian style has matured, but “without sacrificing any of the identity”. “There’s some slightly more restrained styles that have emerged,” he said. “Whether that’s down to winemaker preference or simply regional … “There’s still a certain amount of attention and noise around those big blockbuster styles, but gradually the market is waking up to the fact that there is more variety out there and, at the premium level, wines with finesse and subtlety as well.”

Phoebe Weller of Valhalla’s Goat in Glasgow

For more information about the full range of premium Australian wines available from Fine Wine Partners contact Toby Spiers on 07752 291045 or email toby.spiers@accoladewines.com

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 41

focus on english wine

domestic appliance David Williams talks to independent wine merchants about the changing market for English wine in their businesses, and which producers are achieving the most loyal followings

Kerner from Worcestershire), Seyval Blanc (Devon’s Castlewood)

a rather magnificent saloon bar, The Coral Room, designed by the

English wine stories that have emerged in the past year. In a rather

n November last year, The Bloomsbury Hotel opened to much fanfare after a painstaking refurbishment. Based in a Grade II

listed neo-Georgian building by Edwin Lutyens in the London

district of the same name, the centrepiece of the boutique hotel is Swedish interior architect, Martin Brudnizki.

However tasteful the design, The Coral Room is a glossy,

upmarket sort of place, designed to attract what PRs

and Sauvignon Blanc (Surrey’s Greyfriars Vineyard Sparkling Fumé), as well as the expected flood of Champagne varieties. But The Coral Room’s initiative is but one of many striking

different part of the on-trade, the Fuller’s pub group reported a

euphemistically call discerning – and normal people call wealthy – punters. All of which makes the contents of its sparkling wine list

that bit more intriguing, since the 30-bin selection is entirely filled with English wines.

Of course, for anyone who’s been paying attention to the

trajectory of English wine in recent years, the idea of an all-English fizz list won’t be all that surprising. But what struck me reading

through the list – thoughtfully put together by the ex-Berry Bros & Rudd Master of Wine, Anne McHale – is how diverse it is and how that diversity doesn’t lead to a dip in quality. From the big names of Ridgeview, Nyetimber and Gusbourne to rising stars such as

Smith & Evans from Somerset and Surrey’s Albury, the wines are sourced from producers in 13 counties, and include wines made from Kerner (Astley Vineyards George Eckert Vintage Sparkling

The Coral Room’s allEnglish list is sourced from 13 counties and includes wines made from Kerner, Seyval and Sauvignon

Greyfriars Vineyard in Surrey, where Sauvignon thrives

50% spike in sales of its sparkling wines earlier this year after

taking the decision to replace its house Collet Champagne with a

selection of English sparkling wines from Furleigh Estate, Bolney Estate and Chapel Down last year across its 500 outlets.

Meanwhile, in the multiple off-trade, the numbers keep

impressing: Waitrose’s 45-bin English list grew at 50% year-

on-year to summer 2017 and the retailer is dipping a toe into

exporting English fizz to China. Marks & Spencer says sales of

its 17-strong English fizz range grew by 15% in 2017, and the company’s head of food and drink PR Liz Williams reckons it

can only go further in a year of patriotic pomp and circumstance that includes the arrival of a royal baby, two royal weddings

and a World Cup. And if you had any illusions about the total

Continues page 44

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 42

focus on english wine From page 42

mainstreaming of English sparkling wine, Aldi sold through its

£14.99 collaboration with Denbies, a Seyval Blanc-based blend,

Chalk Farm English Sparkling Wine, after articles announcing its arrival in every national newspaper including The Sun.

The feeling of boomtime is reflected on the ground. There are now just shy of 400 English wine producers, with that number

‘I do have some wines from Wiltshire and Devon, but people want the local wine from round the corner’

climbing from 287 in 2012. Even more impressively, around 1

million vines were planted across England and Wales last year, the overwhelming majority of them being Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and

Pinot Meunier destined for sparkling wine. All this on the back of a

to turnover was dramatic,” White says. “We sold it through very

greatly from the original estate to 170ha across West Sussex and

Like many independents, White’s English wine selection is

135% increase in plantings in the previous 10 years, split between established players such as Nyetimber – which has expanded

Hampshire – and newcomers such as, most dramatically, East

Sussex’s Rathfinny, which has so far planted 75ha, with plans to add a further 91ha by 2020.

The latter, the largest single development yet in English wine,

will be responsible for one of the most anticipated launches of the year in April, when founders Mark and Sarah Driver unveil the

first two sparkling wines from the estate at a launch event for the

press. Disgorged in February, the Sussex Sparkling Blanc de Blancs 2014 and Rosé 2015 will be on sale to the trade via distributors Gonzalez Byass in June.

quickly.”

based on its local appeal. “We tend to go pretty heavy on the local here,” he says, which, as well as Winbirri, means a rosé and a

Bacchus from Humble Yard in Mulbarton and a red from Babu’s

Vineyard in Weston Longville. Indeed, for White, the distance from the shop trumps even the reputational and marketing-budget

advantages of the sparkling wine brands. “We do have some of

the Nyetimber, the sort of wine that people will have read about, and the reputation of English sparkling wine does seem to be

sound,” White says. But with the local, still wines, “there’s the reduced mileage, the connection,

That this debut sparkling release should

they know the owner or they’ve bought fruit

overshadow the Drivers’ earlier release of its still

from the farm.”

dry white, made from Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris

Mike Gould, director of Noble Green Wines

under the Cradle Valley label, is hardly surprising.

in Hampton Hill in Twickenham, has a similar

Labouring in the shadow of the roaring success

outlook, although in his case “local” takes in

of English fizz, after all, seems to be the fate of all

some of the big names of English sparkling wine

still English wines at the moment. Which is not

in Kent and Sussex “so we don’t have much from

to say that they haven’t had some high-profile

further afield. We’ve got quite close connections

successes of their own.

to Hattingley, Bolney and Gusbourne. We do

Perhaps the most spectacular triumph for any

[Bluebell Vineyards] Hindleap, and Nyetimber

still English wine in the past year was Winbirri’s

on the premium side, the Blanc de Blancs,” Gould

win at the Decanter World Wine Awards. Owned and run by winemaker Lee Dyer, the estate, near

Surlingham in Norfolk, picked up one of only 34 platinum awards

says, adding, “I think there’s still a difference in quality between still and sparkling.”

Dominic Lockyer also sees the advantage of the hyper-local at

handed out by the Decanter panel for its Bacchus 2015, which was

Fareham Wine Cellar in Hampshire. “I guess you can sell whatever

Winbirri wines, Chris White of local independent Reno Wine in

he says. “Hambledon is quite a well-known brand, so people do

declared the “best single-varietal white wine in show”.

The result was good news for one long-term supporter of the

nearby Wymondham.

“We’ve been selling it since the start of the shop, but the boost

you like in London, but we really only do local for sparkling:

Hambledon, Cottonworth and a new small producer, Raimes,”

come in and specifically want a bottle of Hambledon. Cottonworth and Raimes are more of a hand-sell; they haven’t got the same

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 44

Hampshire winemakers celebrate victory over Sussex in the 2016 “Vineyard Olympics”. Events included tug of war and tossing the end post

marketing behind them, although they’re very good quality.

“A lot of people are buying because of the locality,” Lockyer

continues. “I do have some wines from Wiltshire and Devon, [but]

they want the local one from round the corner – they want to drink something very local, or take it as a gift to someone to show them something local.”

The latter is especially true of still wines, of which Fareham has examples from nearby Tichfield Vineyard as well as Lyme Bay in

Devon. “The still wines haven’t been caught up in the excitement of sparkling wines,” Lockyer says. “There is a market for them,

but I haven’t worked it out. I’m not sure people are buying it for themselves; with sparkling people definitely are.”

For Lockyer, English sparkling wine is now effectively his

entry-point fizz, with Fareham having taken the decision not to compete with the supermarkets at lower prices. “We basically

don’t sell things like Prosecco or Cava, because the supermarkets have screwed that up for everyone. We’ve done away with most

sparkling under £20, we’ve only go a Moscato d’Asti, which is good! [Customers] are not coming to us for cheap sparkling, so we don’t have it.”

There is occasionally some resistance on price. “The cheapest

English sparkling is £25, and sometimes people don’t understand why it should be the same price as Champagne,” Lockyer says.

“Again, it’s undermined by the supermarkets selling Champagne

at £16.”

White has similar views. “The biggest block of all can still be

the prices. If they’re paying £20 for England, and I know there’s

something better on the shelf at that price, then it’s unfair of me [to push it].

“But if we do a special evening, which we do sometimes on a

steam train, the Pinot Noir from Winbirri, tasted blind, is usually

mistaken for a Burgundy. It’s only 20 minutes down the road, and, as prices [of other wines] have drifted up, £12.95 is not too far

away from that sweet spot for a gift. When you explain they only

have eight acres it starts to make sense. There’s the quirky reveal, and they think they’ll have one or two of those. “

For Christine Donovan at Camber Wines in Portsmouth,

however, price is increasingly less of an issue, for both still and sparkling. Camber Wines has a pair of producers representing each category (Nyetimber and Hambledon for fizz, and Lyme

Bay and Stopham Estate for still), all of which, Donovan says, are regular features in in-store tastings. “We use it a lot for our wine tastings to let people know and get people informed,” Donovan

says. “People have started to shop local more, and the wines are getting more affordable, so it’s not too off-putting.

“People get a bit daunted by the first thought of an English still

wine, but when they try it they think it has the quality to compete

with the classic styles,” Donovan adds, before capturing in nutshell the journey that English sparkling wine has taken in the past five years.

“If you explain that you can get a similar thing to Champagne but

from their own country, they think: that’s great. Why not?”

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 45

focus on english wine

Astley Vineyard Hailed as “one of the most iconic English wines” (Matthew Jukes, February 2018), Astley Vineyard’s Old Vine Kerner is a boutique, premium

example

English

still wine. Currently stocked at Michelin-starred Sketch, London, and previously served at Tate Britain,

Astley’s

prized

grape

variety produces an unusual, yet delightfully intense wine. Recently taken over by the Haywood family, this beautiful five-acre, single estate vineyard has been producing a range of quality wines in rural Worcestershire for over 40 years.

Contact: 01299 822907 office@astleyvineyard.co.uk www.astleyvineyard.co.uk

Barrels at Bolney, Sussex

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 46

Henners Herstmonceux, East Sussex From a small and unique vineyard which overlooks the Pevensey levels. Delicate yet complex with remarkable depth and character, Henners’ elegant wines are a tribute to the low-lying sandstone soils on which our Pinot Noir and Meunier seem to flourish. Available from Boutinot.

Contact: 0161 908 1300 sales@boutinot.com www.boutinot.com

Stopham Estate

Wine made with precision by the top English white wine specialists. Contact us for information. Contact: 01798 865666 info@stophamvineyard.co.uk www.stophamvineyard.co.uk

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 47

focus on english wine

not such little englanders There’s a new voice for the English and Welsh wine industry in the form of Wines of Great Britain. Does that matter to independent merchants? Well, yes, it probably does

ureaucratic changes in the wine

trade don’t normally set the pulse

racing, but the tidying-up exercise

at the top of the English (and Welsh) wine industry feels more like a coming of age – perhaps a statement of intent.

The creation of Wines of Great Britain

from the merger of English Wine Producers and the UK Vineyards Association means that the industry can now talk with one

voice, both in a marketing sense and as a lobbying force.

as a wine region at a dramatic pace and

and working with whichever vintage we

producer, there is experimentation and

into one particular style as a region. We can

so as we are continuing to establish

our credentials as a top sparkling wine innovation going on in that sector,” she says.

“I mean an aged Blanc de Blancs that’s

not been disgorged for umpteen years …

we’re still waiting to see the results of that. “We are seeing it too in the production

Reichensteiner on bemused visitors at the

of some of our still wines. Who would have

already lobbied for its own PDO, and is

Kent, for example?

awaiting sign-off from Brussels.)

Wine gb hasn’t been set up to impose rules about yields, permitted grape

varieties or harvest dates. England is

still in growth mode, and while the big noise is inevitably coming from the

Champagne-style wines that are gradually winning a global following, there is still

experimentation and innovation going on. So says Julia Trustram Eve, head of

marketing at Wine GB. “We have evolved

terrific back stories.

“We’ve got some unbelievably talented

winemakers. New talent comes in and

existing talent is reaching out to produce

new things. It’s an exciting and heady time.”

“We’ve outgrown One Great George

quite like to be bound by the kind of

just to feel more authentic. (Sussex has

discover and ultimately that makes some

Lindley Hall in London for the first time.

These days, the English wine industry is

regulations that exist in mainland Europe,

still innovate, we can still experiment and

on Thursday, April 26 takes place at RHS

farm gate have been over for some time.

there’s almost a feeling that some would

“We’re so lucky in that we are not set

This year’s annual English wine tasting

The days of eccentric amateurs forcing

becoming so slick and so organised that

have and making something wonderful.

thought 20 years ago that Chardonnay

would produce such an epic still wine in “There’s some Albariño now being

produced by Chapel Down and in Wales at Ancre Hill. We’re seeing some wonderful developments with Pinot Gris; in great

years you’ve got some great Pinot Noir still reds.

“Actually I think there’s still some

traction to be gained in Bacchus being a signature grape variety.

“Winemakers are using oak, allowing the

wine to age for a bit longer before release, keeping that balance of acidity and fruit

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 48

Street,” says Trustram Eve. “We love it but

we’ve had to move because we’ve got new producers coming in all the time and we wanted to give them the opportunity to show their wines.

“Fortunately the size of our industry is

such that we can still have a central table.

So expect to see more wines and some new producers. We are also starting to focus on regions so people can get to know them a

little bit more. We will be doing a series of seminars and industry briefings.

“There’ll be an opportunity for the

trade to come along and find out what

the industry body is all about and what it can do for them. They can ask questions

and we’re going to have some interesting debates as well.”

English Wine Week, May 26 - June 3: Linking independents with local producers Wine

keen

hear

from

independent merchants about what kind of support they would like to see from the new industry body. Some of the support that already exists will be evident during English Wine Week, which takes place from Saturday, May 26 until Sunday, June 3. Retailers and producers are encouraged to forge links and create events that Wine GB can help to publicise. “We noticed the most impressive increase in participants in English wine week last year came from the off-trade, Above: late season at Bolney. Below: the tasting room at Bluebell Vineyard

and I would say that the large majority of that was actually from the independent trade,” says Trustram Eve. “We

also

noticed

not

only

the

independent sector coming to us, wanting to do something, but we also saw more engagement from the vineyards wanting to support the outlets they supplied. “We also noticed last year that social media played a very, very strong part in raising the profile and engaging people. So we’re going to be continuing the social media aspect. “There’s a story to tell with English wines and that’s something the independent wine trade is so brilliant at – you are always discovering something. “There’s a lot more the vineyards can do to help enhance the customers’ enjoyment of buying their wines from a wine merchant, because you can do anything from winemaker dinners to the in-

To find out more about English Wine Week visit www.englishwineproducers.co.uk. To register for the trade tasting email Julia@englishwineproducers.com.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 49

store tastings with the producer present. There’s a whole lot of opportunities just waiting to be embraced.”

make a date

Rosé all the Way Twelve rosé producers will be showcasing different styles available in the various French appellations at this London event. Contact Pandora Mistry – Pandora.mistry@businessfrance.fr – to register or for more details. Tuesday, April 17, London Cru Winery, Seagrave Road, London SW6 1RP

Wines from Rioja Tasting Rioja has experienced ground-breaking

reception will follow.

Contact Bettina Hepburn: email Bettina.

Hepburn@thisisphipps.com. Monday April 9

changes in the last 12 months and

The Rumpus Room

Wines from Rioja will be hosting an

Mondrian Hotel

event to introduce Rioja’s new corporate

Southbank

identity to the UK wine trade.

London SE1 9PD

The event will also feature a panel

discussion featuring representatives from different sections of the trade. The panel

will discuss the recent changes involving single-vineyard and sparkling wines in Rioja and what this means for the UK market in the coming years. A drinks

The Magnificent Severn

Barratt Siegel, Alliance, Armit, Hayward Brothers, New Generation McKinley and Vintage Roots arrives in London for the first time with a tasting especially curated for independents. Each agency will be showing 40 wines,

making a total of 240 all dedicated to the independent market.

Contact your sales representative for

more details and to register to attend on the day.

Tuesday, April 17 Langan’s Brasserie

Following its success in Bristol and

Stratton Street

Manchester, the collaboration of Awin

London W1J 8LB

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 50

MAKE A DATE

Beaujolais 2016 Cru Pop Up Beaujolais Wines will be hosting a series of pop-up tastings in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow, capitalising on a recent flurry of interest from many independent merchants. These will showcase the 2016 vintage,

After each of these tastings, visitors

are invited to stay around to enjoy a glass (or bottle) of wine from specially curated Beaujolais wine lists.

For more information contact Phoebe@

importer will showcase more than 60

Tuesday, April 10

their wares. They come from 20 Italian

tastebeaujolais.co.uk to register.

wines.

Bedales

regions and include Beni di Batasiolo

12 Market Street

and harsh hail causing some producers to

Monday, April 23

ideal ripening period and dry days full of

Edinburgh EH4 1LW

wines with great freshness, bright fruit,

easy one in Beaujolais, with fickle weather lose entire crops.

This event hosted by the Croydon-based

westburycom.co.uk or go to www.

featuring all 10 Crus.

The 2016 vintage was certainly not an

Mondial Wine Portfolio Tasting

London E1 6DT

Good Brothers

Producers will be on hand to discuss

from Piemonte, Girolamo Russo from

Sicily, Arnaldo Caprai from Umbria and

Villa Pinciana from Tuscany, among many others.

To find out more or to register, email

But summer pulled through with an

4-6 Dean Street

The result was classic Beaujolais style

Tuesday, April 24

The Lansdowne Club

Glasgow

9 Fitzmaurice Place

Venue TBC

London W1J 5JD

sunshine and cool nights.

structure and moderate alcohol.

info@mondialwine.co.uk. Monday, April 23

ABS . ALLIANCE WINE . ARMIT WINES . HAYWARD BROTHERS . NEW GENERATION MCKINLEY . VINTAGE ROOTS .

M7 London The tasting for independent wine merchants.

Tuesday 17th April 2018 10am ‘til 4pm

Langan’s Brasserie, Stratton Street, Mayfair, London, W1J 8LB (Right next to Green Park Station)

Please RSVP to your rep as soon as soon as possible to secure your place THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 51

supplier bulletin

LOUIS LATOUR AGENCIES 12-14 Denman Street London W1D 7HJ

Simonnet-Febvre Founded in 1840 by Jean Febvre, a cooper from Montbard,

Simonnet-Febvre remains one of the oldest Chablis producers.

Under the steady hand of winemaker and director Jean-Philippe

Archambaud, Simonnet-Febvre is renowned for having produced a range of exceptional Crémants de Bourgogne since the company’s

0207 409 7276

inception, along with regional wines such as Irancy and Côte

enquiries@louislatour.co.uk www.louislatour.co.uk

reinvigorate the winemaking region of Auxois – forgotten in the

d’Auxerre, and top-quality Grand Cru and Premier Cru Chablis.

More recently Jean-Philippe has been at the forefront of a move to

post-phylloxera era and now producing exciting wines from Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Auxerois.

Gosset CELEBRIS 2004 The pinnacle expression of Gosset, CELEBRIS is not just a vintage wine, but a vintage wine encapsulating the essence of the Gosset

style – freshness, ageability and focus. Having aged at least 10 years on the lees, this 2004 displays the balance and complexity of the vintage along with the trademark elegance of Gosset.

For more information please contact the office on 020 7409 7276.

Awin Barratt Siegel New Price List

AWIN BARRATT SIEGEL WINE AGENCIES

Look out for our new Price List arriving through your letterbox just before Easter!

28 Recreation Ground Road Stamford Lincolnshire PE9 1EW 01780 755810

Highlights include welcoming new agencies Division Winemaking Company and twill Cellars from Oregon, USA, Allram from Kamptal, Austria and Nittardi from Tuscany, Italy.

orders@abswineagencies.co.uk www.abswineagencies.co.uk

@ABSWines

If you don’t receive a copy of our new price list and would like one, please contact Joanna Clarke on 01306 631 155 or jlc@abswineagencies. co.uk.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 53

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negociants uk

This summer we are offering not only 20% off but also a free-of-charge case on your first order of Chaffey Bros Not Your Grandma’s Rosé, just as long as you include it in your fridge selection.

Davenport House Bowers Way, Harpenden Herts AL5 4HX

Renegade winemaking brothers-in-law Theo and Dan from Chaffey Bros in the Barossa Valley have welcomed the Rosé Revolution – moving

01582 797510

away from the sweet, coloured white wine to a drier refreshing style.

neguk@negociants.com orders@negociants.com

the Lyndoch foothills and from Stockwell, which is co-fermented with

Twitter: @NegociantsUK Facebook: NegociantsUK

Not your Grandma’s Rosé is made from old-vine Barossa Grenache from 18% of Mourvèdre also from the Lyndoch region. The remaining 9%

is an aromatic blend of Riesling, Gewürtztraminer, and Weiβer Herold from the Northern Eden Valley, which emphasises the strawberry,

musk and Turkish delight aromas. Early picking allows for a textural mouthfeel, luminous rose-diamond colour and crisp natural acidity giving great length.

Chaffey Bros Not your Grandma’s Rosé 6 x 750ml – £65.89 £52.71 (all prices duty paid ex VAT). Place an order with orders@ negociants.com or get in touch with your sales manager for more information.

hatch mansfield

Menetou-Salon – the unlikely hero of the Central Loire …

New Bank House 1 Brockenhurst Road Ascot Berkshire SL5 9DL

Central Loire didn’t have it easy with the last two harvests seriously

01344 871800

crop in 2017. This small appellation of just 561ha produces a great

info@hatch.co.uk www.hatchmansfield.com @hatchmansfield

impacted by the hail, frost and other whims of Mother Nature.

Luckily, the Menetou-Salon AOC came to the rescue with a good

alternative to our beloved Sancerre. Joseph Mellot’s Menetou-Salon vineyards are located near Bourges, south of Sancerre, planted on

gentle slopes of Kimmeridgian limestone – very similar soil to that

of Chablis. Les Thureaux offers here a great value Sauvignon Blanc, packed with intense citrus and pineapple flavours – a must for every Loire lover.

This wine, amongst others, will be available to taste at the London Wine Fair – 21st to 23rd May, London Olympia Our portfolio: Champagne Taittinger · Louis Jadot, Burgundy · Joseph Mellot, Loire · Jean-Luc Colombo and Colombo & Fille, Rhône · C.V.N.E, Rioja · Viña Errazuriz and Caliterra, Chile · Domaine Carneros, USA · Robert Oatley, Australia · Villa Maria Estate, Vidal, Te Awa Collection and Esk Valley, New Zealand · Kleine Zalze, South Africa.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 54

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marussia beverages 0207 724 5009 www.marussiabeverages.co.uk info@marussiabeverages.com MarussiaBeveragesUK

Marussia Beverages UK are importers and distributors of the finest spirits from around the world. Since 1984 we have been sourcing rare and wonderful premium spirits to share with you and your customers. Sample Bourbon, Scotch, Irish and world whiskies, unique

American and London dry gin, superb French and Italian liqueurs, premium rum from Barbados and the highest quality traditional brandy from Cognac and Armagnac. These are just a taste of the range of spirits we supply.

@marussiabeveragesuk @MarussiaUK

buckingham schenk 68 Alpha Street South Slough SL1 1QX 01753 521336 sales@buckingham-schenk.co.uk www.buckingham-schenk.co.uk

@BuckSchenk

New year, new wines The latest wine list from Buckingham Schenk is full of fantastic wines from a really

great range of incredible producers. Here are two examples to whet your palate: if you’d like to see more, please get in touch.

Il Cignale, IGT Colli della Toscana Centrale From the heart of Chianti Classico, Castello di Querceto has been run by the

François family since 1978 and consistently produces among the most highly-

rated wines from the region. This wine is a very deep ruby red colour, elegant

and well structured. Bursting with red fruit aromas with hints of balsamic and pine. On the palate it’s full-bodied but velvety with balanced tannins. Rock Ferry, 3rd Rock Chardonnay

Owned by husband and wife team Tom and Fiona Hutchison, Rock Ferry Wines

is an organic winery from New Zealand. Their philosophy is to make real wines which speak of their home; to express the pure distinct flavours from their

organic estate vineyards in Marlborough and Central Otago. It’s the way they

live. From their Corners Vineyard in Marlborough, this Chardonnay has aromas of stone fruits, nougat with a hint of vanilla. Ripe and succulent on the palate, this wine has great persistence and texture.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 55

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liberty wines

Brunello 2013 – potential for greatness

020 7720 5350

The 2013 Brunelli di Montalcino have now arrived in the UK. The

order@libertywines.co.uk www.libertywines.co.uk @liberty_wines

by David Gleave MW

wines are outstanding, and will be in great demand, not only because their classical structure will ensure great longevity, but also because so little 2014 was produced.

The growing season in 2013 was longer than usual, which has resulted

in the development of more complex tannins. Rain in September caused

apprehension for those whose vineyard work was less than diligent, but the best wines, from the most scrupulous of growers, will age very well.

The tannin structure of the wines saw Tancredi Biondi Santi announce

that the estate has decided to delay release of the 2013 until 2019, the extra year of ageing making it a Riserva in all but name.

Biondi Santi’s neighbour, Andrea Costanti, also benefitted from the

longer growing season, especially as his vineyards are among the highest

in Montalcino. As a result, Walter Speller called his 2013 Brunello “one of the top wines of the vintage”. For more power, look out for the Fossacolle, while the San Polo, from vineyards that are among the best managed in the entire zone, displays intensity.

The wines are starting to attract critical acclaim, so we expect demand to continue to

increase.

Famille Helfrich Wines

Famille Helfrich is the independent specialist arm of Les Grands Chais de

1, rue Division Leclerc, 67290 Petersbach, France

the leading producer and exporter of French wines and spirits.

cdavies@lgcf.fr 07789 008540

the best terroir France has to

@FamilleHelfrich @family_helfrich_gcf_wines

France ... yes, still a family – with real people! Joseph founded the company in 1979 with 5,000 fr and we have grown to become Don't let the size put you off, it has helped us create an independent portfolio of

over 400 wines and we now own over 45 domaines and châteaux across some of offer.

Having the infrastructure

allows us to consolidate all of our wines at one central

location in Alsace, where you

can either come and collect or we can deliver a single mixed pallet to you.

REMEMBER, we are a

producer, a family producer, not an agency as some people think.

Working with Famille Helfrich Wines gives you the ability as an independent to buy

direct from a producer from appellations all over France, with one delivery.

A perfect solution to help you grow and experiment with France and all it has to

offer ...

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 56

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walker & Wodehouse 109a Regents Park Road London NW1 8UR 0207 449 1665 lmcgovern@walkerwodehousewines. com www.walkerwodehousewines.com

Spanish Spring This month sees the addition of three Spanish producers to our range:

Riojan powerhouse Marques de Riscal, Palacio Quemado and Moli des Capellans.

The oldest and one of the most respected producers in Rioja, Marques de

Riscal produces a range of award winning wines. Owning a total of 1,500

hectares in Rioja, with a high percentage of historic vineyards together with the Cathedral Cellar, which has housed wines since 1862, this celebrated winery lays claim to some of the oldest vines and wines in Rioja.

Owned by the Alvear family, Palacio Quemada in Extramadura is a

winery with an exciting future. In 2010 Envinate, a team of four passionate enologists,

took over the winemaking with a mission to express the terroir of this emerging region. With experience in Ribera Sacra and the Canary Islands, a DO with less than 20 years to its name (Ribera del Guadiana) was an ideal project for the team. The resulting wines are lithe and muscular with excellent balance.

Based in the north east of Spain in Conca de Barbera, Moli des Capellans is the

brainchild of Sergi Montala and Jordi Masdeu. Using Parellada and Trepat, this visionary

duo are producing stylish modern wines from low-yielding vines. Green harvesting, cold maceration and lees ageing are some of the techniques employed. The resulting wines are supple and elegant expressions of these Catalonian varietals.

fine wine partners Thomas Hardy House 2 Heath Road Weybridge, KT13 8TB 07552 291045 toby.spiers@accoladewines. com

Fine Wine Partners: championing regional Australia Fine Wine Partners are distributing some of the most highly renowned and respected wineries across the breadth of Australian fine wines. We are extremely excited to be showing our wines to independent wine merchants

throughout the UK in 2018 and we have a clear strategy on how we will do this and are happy to share this with you. Our regional champions are

Houghton, Petaluma, St Hallett, Grant Burge, Stonier and House of Arras. We feel there is an

amazing opportunity to tell the

somewhat unknown or forgotten story of regional Australian

premium and fine wine and we want to do that together with

your help. We will be doing our

utmost to bring our wines to life over the year ahead.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 57

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mentzendorff The Woolyard 52 Bermondsey Street London SE1 3UD 020 7840 3600

New Vintages and Releases at Mentzendorff We hope you were able to join us for Mentzendorff’s Annual Portfolio Tasting on March 7. Once again we welcomed our world of wine producers to London to showcase their

wares to the wine trade. The event featured our latest vintages and releases, as well as our new producers. Here are a few of the highlights from the event …

info@mentzendorff.co.uk www.mentzendorff.co.uk

Champagne Bollinger La Grande Année Rosé 2007

Champagne Ayala Blanc de Blancs 2010

Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Brunello di Montalcino 2013

Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana En Rama

AIX Rosé 2017

Thanks to everyone who took part in this year's Wine Merchant reader survey. We had our best-ever response and five entrants were selected at random to win a Coravin, courtesy of our partners Hatch Mansfield. Congratulations to: Mike Boyne, BinTwo, Padstow | Timothy Pride, Kingsgate Wines, Winchester | Dylan Rowlands, Gwin Dylanwad Wine, Dolgellau Sue Halls, Wadebridge Wines | John Freeland, CA Rookes, Stratford on Avon

WINNERS THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 58

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richmond wine agencies

A new Château d’Esclans wine has landed!

The Links, Popham Close Hanworth Middlesex TW13 6JE

Provence rosé is NEW and available via Richmond Wine

020 8744 5550 info@richmondwineagencies.com

@richmondwineag1

The Palm by Whispering Angel 2017 A blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah, this easy-drinking Agencies.

Under screwcap closure, it is sure to be a hit in 2018 and beyond. Contact us for more details.

RWA increases its Californian range We are proud to now be UK agents for the David Bruce range of wines.

Located in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the winery has earned an international reputation for producing world-class wines.

They were one of 12 Californian wineries to participate in the now famous 1976 Judgement of Paris. The range:

2015 Chardonnay ‘Russian River’ 2015 Pinot Noir ‘Sonoma’

2015 Pinot Noir ‘Russian River’

hallgarten

Lismore, Reserve Chardonnay, Greyton 2016 Intense citrus aromas and classic soft fruits are layered with honeysuckle and vanilla notes, beautifully balanced with a crisp and distinct minerality. Tim Atkin, 95pts

Dallow Road Luton LU1 1UR 01582 722 538 sales@hnwines.co.uk www.hnwines.co.uk

@hnwines

Castello Pomino, Benefizio Bianco Riserva 2016 This barrique aged white wine is elegant and distinctive with a rich array of aromas and flavours such as apple, pineapple, citrus and honey.

We’re proud to represent some of the best female winemakers around the world. To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8th March, we have taken a closer look at some of the wines in our portfolio crafted by Women With Bottle.

San Marzano, Edda Lei Bianco, Salento 2016 A very distinctive and complex wine with intriguing aromas of orange blossom and beeswax complemented by rich honey with overlaying freshness.

THE WINE MERCHANT MARCH 2018 59

Olifantsberg, Grenache Blanc, Breedekloof 2016 Subtle aromas of lime blossom combine with green herbal notes, white peach and quince through to a beautifully balanced and richly textured palate with a delicious hint of salinity on the finish. Castello Nipozzano, Chianti Rufina Riserva 2014 The benchmark of Chianti Riserva, Nipozzano has a vibrant personality full of wild berry, cherry and toasted notes underpinned with spicy aromas.

Piattelli Vineyards, Grand Reserve, Cafayate, Malbec 2015 A rich and fragrant wine which represents the best of the crop. An intense red with aromas of black fruits, vanilla and a touch of smoke. Tim Atkin, 91pts