uk wine consumption research report

UK Wine Consumption Research Report Module No 12: Study Skills and Research Methods

Jenny Slee

Module No: 12 Study Skills and Research Methods – UK Wine Consumption Lianne Grogan

Foundation Degree in Hospitality and Event Management – Jenny Slee Word Count 1,500

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Contents Acknowledgements 3 Abstract 4 Introduction 5 Methodology / Research Design 6 Discussions and Recommendations 7 - 15 Conclusions 16 References (Books / Magazines) 17 References (Industry Reports / Journals) 18 References (Websites) 19 Bibliographies 20 Appendices (Research literature) 21 - 80

Acknowledgments I have to thank my brother Donald and my boss David Quinney who inspires

me on the research of Wine Consumption in the UK market and provides me

with reference material and ideas such as the Decanter magazine.

I have to thank Dr Miles Thomas from Winepsych.com who pointed me in the

right direction on relevant websites and industrial journals such as Wine

Intelligence.

I have to thank Antony Wallace from Millstream Hotel & Restaurant who

introduced me to Oliver Hartley of Corney & Barrow, UK’s Independent Wine

Merchants established 1780. Oliver is very kind in spending an hour meeting

with me giving me guidance and advice on the UK and Worldwide Wine

Marketing. I have to thank my tutor and the student support team giving me guidelines on

how to prepare and write this report in the correct format.



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Abstract This research report is about the increase of UK Wine Consumption related to

the Hospitality and Event Industry. Findings from the industry reports based

on figures, graphs, statistics and tables will be used as evidence. Discussions

of the research and recommendations will be given on how Hospitality and

Event Industry should react to the trend and transition.

Module No: 12 Research Report – UK Wine Consumption Lianne Grogan

UK Wine Consumption Research Report 5

Introduction According to recent International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR) figures,

the UK Wine Consumption is increasing and it is expected to rise 12% by

2014 (See: Appendix I & II)

“Is UK Wine Consumption going to increase in the next few years?”

“How does this affect the Hospitality and Event Industry?” In the research report, we are going to discuss and evaluate the findings

using charts, graphs or tables. We will then provide recommendations for the

Hospitality and Event Industry on how to react to the trend and transition.



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Methodology / Research Design

Since this report is only a small-scale research project, we are not going to

prepare our own individual surveys or prepare any questions for quantitative

research or qualitative research, as this will not reflect the whole UK market.

We are going to make use of the existing surveys and reports from the

industry of which will be in a much bigger scale and provide sufficient figures

for analysis.



Discussions and Recommendations The UK Wine Consumption survey by IWSR showing an increase of more

than 12% by 2014, however, on-trade sales in the Hospitality industry such as

Bar and Restaurant are reducing or showing sign of slow growth. Majority of

the UK Wine Consumption are off-trade, Wine sales online or through

Supermarkets have a significant increases. (See Appendices I, II & XI on research

literatures)

Dr Miles Thomas, Academic and Professional Tutor in the School of

Psychology, University of East London published an Psycological article on

May 2008 - On vines and minds. “How can we best support people in making

healthy choices regarding alcohol?” (www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm/volumeID_21-

editionID_160_ArticleID_1341_getfile_getPDF/thepsychologist/0508thom.pdf

visit dated 05.03.11)

In his article he quoted “Wine is a subject which naturally inspires generosity

and enthusiam” Jancis Robinson on Oxford Companion to Wine (Robinson, J

(2006) The Oxford company to wine (3rd Edition) Oxford University Press), he also quoted

“Nothing is so conductive to living and effective life as wine. Do you not see?

It is wine-drinkers who make money, clinch their business deals, win their

legal cases, become happy and help their friends.” Aristophanes, 5th century

BC and “In vino veritas” [In wine is truth] Proverb quoted in Plato’s

Symposium

Austrian ‘authrolposphist’ Rudolph Steiner in 1924 believed that agriculture

should be in harmony with natural systems such as Lunar Cycles.

Supermarkets such as Tesco or Marks and Spencer now host their Wine

Tasting Events following such Cycles. (When Wine Tastes Best – A biodynamic

calendar for Wine drinkers 2011 by Maria & Matthias Thun [1st Edition], published by Floris

Books)



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Wine Intelligence, a global company dedicated to supporting Wine business

and associations through consulting, branding and market research defines

the needs for Wine Consumption as below.

Why people drink Wine?

Wine Intelligence has identified four Wine drinking motivations: - Functional,

Social, Personal and Mood enhancing. Consumer will not just fit in one of the

motivations and usually will be a combination of them. (See Appendices XII on

research literatures)



Research findings also show that British and Irish are the strongest

preference for enjoying a glass of Wine for informal occasions at home across

European countries.

“An Englishman, an Irishman and a Frenchman walk into a

bar… (See Appendices XII on research literatures)



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How UK Consumers categorise Wine labels?

Wine Intelligence has defined seven distinct categories, packaging is one of

the consideration on Wine Consumption. (See Appendices XII on research

literatures)

Recent year, woman has more influence on Wine choice than man especially

the majority shoppers in Supermarkets are woman. Female drinking Wine at

modern Wine bar has also become more popular than drinking Lager or

Cocktails. (See Appendices on research literatures)

Janics Robinson MW, OBE who is the author of “Oxford Companion to Wine”

and host a website www.jancisrobinson.com is also one of the famous Wine

Critics.



Wine Intelligence has defined a global model on Wine markets showing

established markets like the UK have been experiencing growth in Wine

Consumption for 15 years and is now slowing as they are moving into

maturity.

Classification of Wine markets, Wine Intelligence 2010 [countries listed in alphabetical order

Recent calibration studies have shown that the number of the UK regular

Wine drinker has increased slightly but only in line with the increase in

population: the general Wine drinking penetration has remained stable over

the last year. (See Appendices XII on research literatures)



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According to Wine & Spirit Trade Association, WSTA, share of tax in average

price is 54.4% with Retail price for a 75cl bottle of Still Wine not exceeding

15% abv imported from the European Union, surveys showing that excise

duty and VAT has affected value on Wine Consumption in both on-trade and

off-trade.

Based on WSTA Statistics for Still Wines (UK Customs clearances), UK Wine

import are on much higher percentage from Still Wine under 15%alc than

Sparking Wine or Wine over 15%alc in 2010.

(The figures show the quantities of wines taken out of bond and released for home

consumption in the UK. Quantities are shown in Hectolitres (HI) 1 HI is 100 litres, where a

case of standard bottles is 9 litres. www.wsta.co.uk/Table/Statistics)

In accordance with WSTA’s Facts about Alcohol Consumption, average

alcohol consumption in the UK has fallen but UK Wine Consumption still

forecast increasing. (See Appendices XVII on research literatures)



Fine Wine shows a major reason for the increase of UK Wine Consumption,

according to the meeting with Oliver Hartley from Corney & Barrow and the

research findings. The sales of Fine Wine increased dramatically to 40% in

2010 and there is still sign of increasing due to the change of consumer

habits. Figures showing consumers’ spending cost on per bottle of Wine has

been increased slightly. (See Appendices XIII, The Drink Business from February 2011

edition)

Harrods has made a major refurbishment in their Wine Cellar and has opened

recently with a much bigger section for Fine Wine and private dining; their

target customers are mainly on Fine Wine both from the UK or overseas. (See

Appendices, The Drink Business by Rupert Millar, 01.03.2011 and Patrick Schmitt,

17.11.2010)

London’s Trocadero building will host a new luxury bar and restaurant after

landlord Criterion Capital granted a lease for the former Rex Club to

independent on-trade operator KPIP UK. (See Appendices. The Drink Business by

Gabriel Savage, 22.02.2011)

Rosé and Prosecco gains popularity than traditional White or Red Wine -

According to Harpers, Prosecco brand Follandor has arrived in the UK for the

first time and is targeting the up marketing on-trade and independent retail

sectors. Richard Halstead, COO of Wine Style also quoted “Shifting Styles:

Rosé and Prosecco driving long term change in drinking patterns” (See

Appendices on research literatures)



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How Hospitality and Event Industry should react to the trend and transition?

Below are some of the recommendations that Hospitality and Event Industry

may find it useful in conjunction with the government policy.

1. Wine Tasting Event

- By Country of Origin, introduce new World Wine from

Argentina, Chile or South Africa

- By matching Wine with food such as Spanish evening with

Rioja

- Wine and Cheese with UK Wine

- Fine Wine with Michelin chef

2. Market research

- Attract the right market segment

- By Trend

- By Brand

- Wider selection, not just by price point

- Making use of surveys from IWSR or WSTA

- Attend Trade Fair such as The London International Wine

Fair at Excel London

- Gathered ideas from The Drinks Business, The Publican,

The Caterer or Decanter.



3. Staff training

- In-house - Better knowledge of serving Wine

- Off-site / online – Wine knowledge with the Wine and Spirit

Education Trust

4. Special Event – Royal Wedding or Queen Golden Jubilee

Hospitality and Event Industry should take ad-hoc response in order to

gain additional sales from the new order issue by the Government. (See Appendices XV)

5. Sports Event

– Olympic 2012

– Rugby League World Cup 2013

– Commonwealth Games in 2014

– Rugby Union World Cup in 2015

– Ryder Cup or the annual Six Nations

More events, more tourists visiting the UK, great opportunities for

Hospitality and Event Industry to review the trend of Worldwide Wine

Consumption and increase the UK Wine Consumption. (See Appendices

XVI on PM’s Speech on Tourism Serpentine Gallery 12th August 2010)



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Conclusions UK Wine Consumption has continued to increase for the next few years, the

Hospitality and Event Industry need to react fast and take appropriate action

as per above discussions.

Wine drinking trend is changing from traditional White or Red towards Rosé or

Sparkling Wine. Women have major influence on purchasing, consuming or

discussion of Wine in both Hospitality and Event industry. Social Media has

also placing an important pressure on how consumers decide to choose their

Wine.

Climate change, UK Wine quality is getting similar to France produce. “The

future for UK Wines looks Rosé” by Andrew Mourant on Guardian. Hospitality

and Event Industry can work together with the UK Wine producer, focusing on

marketing UK Wine and Tourism for both local and overseas consumers.

By following guidelines from the Licensing authorities such as promoting sales

in a responsible manner, working together with BII, BBPA and making use of

WSTA Toolkit: Social Responsibility. Wine Consumption can be a very

socialize networking activities for all cultures.

(See Appendices on research literatures)



References (Books / Magazines) BII Business Magazine March 2011 Decanter Magazine March 2011 Pocket Wine Book 2011 by Hugh Johnson’s Revised edition, published by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd Pocket Wine Book 2011 by Oz Clarke 19th Edition published by Anova Books The Best Wines in the Supermarkets 2011 by Ned Halley Published by W. Foulsham & Co Ltd Waitrose Wine and Spirits List Winter 2010/Spring 2011 When Wine Tastes Best – A biodynamic calendar for Wine drinkers 2011 by Maria & Matthias Thun 1st Edition, published by Floris Books Wine Brands – Success Strategies for New Markets, New Consumers and New Trends by Evelyne Resnick 1st Edition 2008, published by Palgrave MacMillan Wine Marketing – A Practical Guide by C. Michael Hall and Richard Mitchell 1st Edition 2008, published by Elsevier Ltd Wine Politics – How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters an d Critics Influence the Wine We Drink by Tyler Colman 1st Edition 2008, published by University of California Press Business Research Projects by A D Jankowicz 3rd Edition 2000, published by Thomson Learning Cite them Right by Richard Pears and Graham Shields 8th Edition 2010, published by Palgrave MacMillan Critical Thinking Skills by Stella Cottrell 1st Edition 2005, published by Palgrave MacMillan The Study Skills Handbook by Stella Cottrell 3rd Edition 2008, published by Palgrave MacMillan



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References (Industry Reports / Journals) British Tourism Briefing by British Tourism Partnerships Creating Jobs in Britain – A Hospitality Economy Proposition – A Report by the British Hospitality Association October 2010 Economic contribution of UK hospitality industry – Final Report September 2010 by Oxford Economics PM’s Speech on Tourism Serpentine Gallery 12 August 2010 Alcohol misuse: tackling the UK epidemic February 2008 by BMA Board of Science Home Office Drugs & Alcohol Unit Newsletter February 2011 Smoking and drinking among adults, 2009 – A Report on the 2009 General Lifestyle Survey by Office for National Statistics Under the influence – The damaging effect of alcohol marketing on young people September 2009 by British Medical Association Journal of Wine Research, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group



References (Websites) www.alcoholconcern.org.uk www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine www.bibendum-wine.co.uk www.bii.org www.britishtourismweek.com www.climatechangeandwine.com www.decanter.com www.guardian.co.uk www.harpers.co.uk www.harveys.org.uk www.londonwineacademy.com www.squaremeal.co.uk www.thedrinksbusiness.com www.thepublican.com www.winebusiness.com www.wineintelligence.com www.winenow.biz www.winepsych.com www.wsetglobal.com www.wsta.co.uk



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Bibliographies www.caterersearch.com/articles/2011/01/13/336579/UK-wine-consumption-to-hit-151.5-million-cases-by-2014.htm visit dated 15.03.11 www.harpers.co.uk/news/news-headlines/9777-fine-wine-boom-boosts-majestic.html visit dated 05.03.11 www.instituteofhospitality.org/news/february_issue/world_wine_consumption visit dated 15.03.11 www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm/volumeID_21-editionID_160_ArticleID_1341_getfile_getPDF/thepsychologist/0508thom.pdf visit dated 05.03.11 www.vinexpo.com/en/studies/global-current-and-future-trends-2014/ visit dated 15.03.11 www.wsta.co.uk/Table/Statistics visit dated 05.03.11

www.wsta.co.uk/Social-Responsibility.html visit dated 05.03.11



Appendices (Research literature)

I. “UK Wine Consumption to hit 151.5 million cases by 2014” by Neil Gerrard (www.caterersearch.com/articles/2011/01/13/336579/UK-wine-consumption-to-hit-151.5-million-cases-by-2014.htm visit dated 15.03.11)

According to news from Caterer Search, based on the findings of updated

research from International Wine Show Vinexpo and International Wine and

Spirits Research (IWSR). UK Wine Consumption has climbed to the world’s

biggest importer of wine and high alcohol duty is also partly explained why UK

is the second-larges consumer market worldwide behind the USA but ahead

of France.

II. Vinexpo - 14th Global Study on current trends in the

international Wine and Spirits markets and outlook to 2014 (www.vinexpo.com/en/studies/global-current-and-future-trends-2014/ visit dated 15.03.11)

Vinexpo recently produced a report on Global current and future trends to

2014: consumption, production, distribution and international wine and spirits

trade, this report will be discussed in Bordeaux on 19-23 June 2011.



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Research Method used: -

- The survey covers 28 producing countries and 114 consumer countries

- The overview of the current market includes 2005-2009 figures

- The section on forecasts for 2010-2014 includes available, valid figures

for 2010

- All turnover is based on retail prices

According to their survey, the World Wine Consumption is increasing since

2005 and is continue to increase in the next few years, the forecast of

increase from 2010 to 2014 on Still Light Wine is 3.18% and on Sparkling

Wine is 5.61%.

In their findings, at present UK is not on the top 10 Wine producing countries.



However, UK is on the 5th of the top 10 Still Light Wine Consuming Countries,

slightly behind Italy, USA, France and Germany and UK.

And UK is also on the 6th of the top 10 Sparkling Wine Consuming Countries

slightly behind Germany, France, Russian Federation, USA and Italy.



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The World Wine Consumption forecast by color in the next few years will be

7.76% increase on Rosé, 2.44% increase on White Wine and 3.85% increase

on Red Wine.

Forecast for the average increased is around 3.66%.



The World Wine Consumption forecast by value and by price point in the next

few years showing that there will be a much higher increase percentage on

Fine Wine.



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The Top Wine Exporters (in Value) ranking is changing showing France is

declining and Argentina has growth dramatically, the trend of wine

consumption on new world wine has become more and more popular.



Appendices (Research literature)

III. “Fine Wine boom boots Majestic” (www.harpers.co.uk/news/news-headlines/9777-fine-wine-boom-boosts-majestic.html visit dated 05.03.11)

According to the news from Harpers dated 15th November 2010, Majestic’s

half-year profits in 2010 have soared by 20% partly rely on increasing

consumer interest in Fine Wines. Chairman Phil Wrigley said that Majestic’s

online sales were up 8.3% and now represents 9.1% of the company’s UK

turnover.

IV. “Slurp sells out of wine with email voucher campaign”

(www.harpers.co.uk/news/news-headlines/9801-slurp-sells-ou…e-with-email-voucher-campaign.html visit dated 05.03.11)

According to the news from Harpers dated 18th November 2010, Slurp made

4,000 sales in less than 12 hours following an email voucher campaign with

Groupon. More and more consumer decided to purchase wine online instead

of using retail stores on the high street.

Slurp.co.uk with over 6,500 products, are the largest Internet retailer and

market leader for online wines, beers and spirits retailing in the UK.

They provide a selection of Fine Wine and Wine from 36 different countries

and have “Ask Simon”, their Online Sommelier to answer all customers’

enquiries. They provide express next day delivery when request. On their

website, they encourage customer to use Facebook, Twitter and iphone

applications to communicate with their latest news.



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V. “Currently, 85% of the Wine drunk in the UK is bought in

the off trade, and pubs and bars need to ask themselves whether this is really just about price” extracted from BII Business Magazine March 2011 issue

According to BII, 85% of the Wine drunk in the UK is bought in the off trade.

In order to increase the Wine consumption shares for pubs and bars, licensed

traders need to focus on launching different kind of Wine events, organize

Wine tasting evening, matching Wine with Food, offer different range of Wine

instead of competition with supermarket or online sales, focus on the trend

rather than pricing for their target customers.

VI. “Wine trade faces consumer ‘crisis” written by Graham Holter dated 15th September, 2010 (www.harpers.co.uk/news/news-headlines/9517-wine-trade-consumer-crisis-.html visit dated 05.03.11)

According to the industry advisor, focusing on pricing or promotion is not the

solution on increasing sales or profit margins; licensed traders need to do

more to secure sales or a better or profit margins.

VII. “Staying in is the new going out, research finds” written by Giles Sheldrick dated 21st May, 2010 (www.harpers.co.uk/news/news-headlines/9045-staying-in-is-the-new-going-out-research-finds-.html visit dated 05.03.11)

According to Harpers and the poll of 1,042 UK wine drinkers by Wine

Intelligence suggests more consumers are choosing to spend more on wine to

drink at home with a meal instead of a night out. This may also be related to

the government legislation on drink driving.



VIII. “Stay at home drinkers paying more for wine” written by Matthew Nugent’s Winenow (www.winenow.biz/2010/08/11/stay-at-home-drinkers-paying-more-for-wine/ visit dated 06.03.11)

According to the latest research, commissioned by the UK Wine & Spirit

Trade Association, shows consumers are willing to spend more on a bottle of

wine to drink at home. Commenting on the survey, WSTA Chief Executive

Jeremy Beadles said “No doubt some of this stems from price increases

driven by tax and other factors but it also fits into a pattern of consumers

enjoying wine at home with a meal instead of going out”.

IX. “Prosecco Follador opens UK office” written by Gemma

McKenna (www.harpers.co.uk/news/news-headlines/9613-prosecco-follador-opens-uk-office.html/ visit dated 05.03.11)

According to Harpers, Cristoina Follador, sales and marketing manager said:

“The time is right for us to enter the UK market. The consumer has embraced

Prosecco, as illustrated in growth of the category over the last 18 months, but

this is really down to a generic awareness; as yet Prosecco brands don’t

share the resonance of their Champagne counterparts, giving an excellent

opportunity for a top quality winery like Follador to lead the way.”

X. “The future of UK wines looks Rosé”, Wine-making is not something the UK is known for, but pioneering research at a Sussex college is changing that (www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/28/wine-markers-research-funding visit dated 05.03.11)

According to Guardian and Harpers, UK wine producers in need of high profile

sponsor to support their development and both the climate and trend are on

our side.



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XI. “World Wine Consumption to Increase” (www.instituteofhospitality.org/news/february_issue/world_wine_consumption visit dated 15.03.11)

According to the research report from the International Wine and Spirit

Research - world wine consumption will continue to grow towards 2014 driven

by the US, China and Russia. “In order to get the most out of the growing

market, hotels in particular, must re-invent the way they sell wine”, says

Robert Beynat, CEO of Vinexpo.

- Do not keep the wine hidden away. Wine bottle are beautiful objects.

Why not put your cellar in the middle of the restaurant like the Grand

Hyatt in Singapore? Another great example of creating theatre out of

wine is the Radisson Blu Hotel at Stansted Airport, UK, where the

Angel’s Wine Tower Bar offers more than 4,000 bottles in a soaring

glass wine case. Once ordered, bar staff travel up the tower on ropes

to retrieve your wine selection.

- Have a large range of products on offer

- Be able to explain and advise. Don’t just recommend the most

expensive wines to the customer. Be attuned to the guest who wants

to buy but is a little nervous and needs advice and recommendations.

- Excessive mark-ups of 300% or 400% are a false economy. Lowering

your mark-up to around 100% will increase your turnover and margins.

The same goes for wine by the glass; lower the price and you will sell

more. In the end, smaller mark-ups will give you a good reputation and

mean you sell more and actually improve your margins. Don’t make

wine elitist.

- Get the timing right between serving the wine and the food. Guests do

not like to feel pressurized into buying more wine simply because they

had to wait too long to receive their food.

- Hotels should create specific wine bars or a specialized part of the bar

that focuses on win



XII. 2011 International market roundup by Wine Intelligence While Wine Intelligence remains London-based for some of our client work, 2010 has been the watershed year for establishing a global presence. 70% of our work is now conducted outside the UK; our team has grown to over 14 nationalities speaking 9 languages, and country managers are now established in USA, Australia, Germany and South Africa. This Bulletin brings together key insights from this far-flung team as they each reflect on recent and future trends in their markets.

Graham Holter, Associate Publishing Director, reports on the UK…

Supermarkets now control 83% of wine volume in the off-trade. Yet 2010 has been a good year for independent openings, many of them colonising former Thresher Group stores (just visited an exciting new start-up on the old Wine Rack site in Leadenhall Market). Even at just 17% of total volume, the UK non-supermarket sector is a vibrant market, trading well over 20 million cases and on its own the 4th biggest wine market in Western Europe.

Reflecting on the UK Market overall, the questions we are most frequently asked now are: is penetration really going to increase? And if so, where’s the momentum coming from? Without overwhelmingly positive evince, and sales tracking figures not showing a sustained uplift, some in the industry fear the dreaded plateau is approaching for the UK wine trade.

But brighter future may be in sight, with consumers increasingly prepared to spend more money on a bottle of wine to drink at home. The Vinitrac® UK consumer confidence index, which measures future spending intentions on wine, recorded its highest reading for off-trade spending in November, suggesting that penny-pinching in the wine aisle may be declining after two years of austerity. However, will this encouraging trend hold up with increasing pressures on the industry from politicos, medics, the media and a host of lobbyists? The effect of New Year VAT increases is the next of several consumer hurdles to test the market in coming months.



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Defining wine markets: The global model No two wine markets are exactly alike, but there are enough similarities for them to be grouped together under common themes. The Wine Intelligence global wine market model uses drivers such as market growth, dominance of wine, and future potential, to sort out one type from another. The table doesn’t represent an exhaustive list of all wine markets, though it does reflect those responsible for the vast majority of global consumption.

Table 1 Classification of wine markets, Wine Intelligence 2010 [countries listed in alphabetical order

Wine drinking is generally in decline in traditional established markets, even though in per capita terms they are still massive consumers. Recent Wine Intelligence market calibration results show that in Germany, for example, the penetration of monthly wine drinking has dropped by 2%, or 1.6 million consumers.



Established markets like the UK and Denmark have been experiencing growth in wine consumption for 15 years. However, in most cases that growth is now slowing as they are moving into maturity; wine drinking is now part of everyday life and consumers are becoming more set in their ways.

Recent calibration studies have shown that the number of UK regular wine drinkers has increased slightly but only in line with the increase in population: the general wine drinking penetration has remained stable over the last year. Contrast this with higher growth markets: penetration of monthly wine drinkers in Australia grew from 66% to 68%, 0.7 million consumers, between September 2009 and September 2010, while the USA, in the same period, saw wine drinking penetration increase from 33% to 35% of the adult population.

Not surprisingly for an industry in a state of chronic oversupply, the wine industry is excited by emerging markets. The most recent data shows that China’s wine market has grown 28% over the past year and has now overtaken Spain in terms of consumption.

Beyond macro trends in all five classifications there are local differences that must also be taken into account – and that’s before we start drilling down even further into different types of consumers.

Contact us to discuss how Wine Intelligence can help you develop your international business development plan.

Tags: Calibration, Wine markets

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Why people drink wine: The four wine drinking motivations Why do people drink wine? It sounds like a frivolous question, but the answer is not as obvious as you might think. That’s because there isn’t just one answer to the question: motivations vary between age groups, social demographics and nations. However, we can establish some broad themes that combine – at different levels of importance – to govern wine drinking behavior among consumers in all markets.

Wine Intelligence has identified four main wine drinking motivations: functional (a physical or practical need); social (connected to outward self-expression); personal (a self-expressed symbolic need) and mood enhancing (an experiential need).

Consumer needs rarely fit into only one of these categories, but rather are more often a combination of all, with the emphasis on each category depending on the market, type of consumer or consumption occasion. However, this model can be effectively applied to analyse consumer behavior and aid development of strategic market planning.

Tags: wine drinking motivations

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 21st, 2010 at 3:47 pm and is filed under News, Wine consumers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



An Englishman, an Irishman and a Frenchman walk into a bar… Wine drinking occasions obviously vary according to consumer and markets for a variety of different reasons. But there are some macro trends across European regular wine drinkers that mark some age-old cultural characteristics, and one or two new ones – see illustration below.

The British and Irish show the strongest preference for enjoying a glass of wine for informal occasions at home; whilst the Germans are the least likely to trade up for formal occasions on the on-trade. Meanwhile, the Scandinavian consumers came out as the most open to trying new wines, with the Dutch being the least experimental. Non-food occasions at home are dominant wine drinking occasions in most of the analyzed countries.

The French, of course, stand apart from the crowd, for their tendency to consume wine in the on-trade for formal occasions. In fact, for the French wine drinker, 6 out of 10 on-trade wine drinking occasions are for formal events. Furthermore, research has shown the French are the most likely (of these countries) to trade up for such an occasion.

For the full findings of this study contact us

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 17th, 2010 at 7:31 pm and is filed under News, Wine consumers, Wine markets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



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How UK consumers categorize wine labels

UK wine consumers categorize wine labels into 7 distinct categories, according to the Wine Intelligence Packaging Report published this week.

Ranging from “Prestigious” to “Eclectic”, each category is explored in terms of color, rendering, image, typography and text, to reveal insights into how specific aesthetical characteristics communicate particular messages to consumers.

The report also looks at consumer perceptions of alternative packaging, revealing the PET lightweight bottle to be the preferred alternative packaging, overtaking Bag in Box as the main alternative to glass. Finally the report offers some pointers on the ideal back label.

Read Press Release here “PET bottle leads race for acceptance among alternatives to glass”

The UK Packaging Report is published today, priced at £495 for a single user licence. It is sent free to all subscribers to Vinisub, the new Wine Intelligence subscription service launched earlier this year. For more information about Vinisub UK, visit the Vinisub pages or contact us.

Tags: Alternative packaging, UK

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 21st, 2010 at 3:51 pm and is filed under News, Wine branding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



UK wine market: turning the corner?

It’s become fashionable in the global wine industry to talk down the UK market in recent years. There are plenty of excuses: a severe recession; increasing taxes; hard-bargaining supermarkets; the precipitous decline of sterling against most major currencies over the past 3 years.

And yet we can’t help feeling that the gloom has been overdone. The latest information from Wine Intelligence’s Vinitrac℗ and the IWSR makes for encouraging reading. The UK remains the world’s largest market for imported wine at just over 150 million cases in 2009.

Consumption is still growing, albeit at a much slower rate than in the “golden decade” of the 1990s. Wine Intelligence data suggests that British wine consumers as a whole are trading up: today 15% say they regularly spend over £6 on a bottle of wine for an informal meal at home, up from 10% in 2007. However it will come as no surprise to anyone what has become the dominant choice cue: whether or not a product is on promotion.

Some fascinating sub-plots are emerging in the UK: the well-documented rise of rosé continues (up over 50% in volume terms since 2007, according to Vinitrac℗, which aligns with UK sales data covering the same period); and the growth of Prosecco, which has expanded its consumer base by 60% since 2007. And while the traditional French varietals still command the lion’s share of the market, Tempranillo, Malbec, and above all Pinot Grigio, have made strong advances.

Among source countries, there have been some losers as well as winners: France and Germany continue their long-term slide; Australia has gritted its teeth and hung on to market share; while Italy, South Africa and New Zealand have made strong advances in terms of the number of drinkers consuming wine from these source countries.

Finally, it looks as if we are at the beginning of an emerging trend of polarization into high and low spending consumer segments – what we are calling the “Connoisseurs and Quaffers” syndrome, where the market for wine divides into those drinking a decent drop 2-3 times a week Vs those buying as cheaply as possible and drinking as regularly as every day.



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Clients who have signed up for Vinisub UK, our new low cost market insights solution, will already have this and much more at their fingertips. In September Premium subscribers will receive new versions of both the Landscapes UK and Portraits UK reports, which will offer, respectively, more detail on trends in the UK market, and a detailed new version of the acclaimed UK wine consumer segmentation model. At just £2,800 a year for over £10,000 worth of research, Vinisub Premium is the kind of offer that wouldn’t look out of place on a UK supermarket gondola end. As for Vinisub Standard at £650 per year, this must be the ‘deal of the year’. Click here for further info.

Richard Halstead

Tags: Richard Halstead, UK

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 3:24 pm and is filed under Market research, News, Wine markets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



Wine Intelligence at Fine Wine 2010

The question was: “What is Fine Wine and why is it relevant in the 21st Century?”

Above: Juan Park - Wine Intelligence, Serge Hochar - Chateau Musar, Tim Atkin MW

Not surprisingly, there were plenty of different answers from the high profile group of speakers gathered for the Fine Wine 2010 conference in Aranda de Duero, Spain, last week. Sharing the stage were wine industry luminaries such as Tim Atkin MW, Michael Mondavi, Bruce Tyrell and 30 other speakers from 11 countries Atkin kicked the conference off by challenging the definition of Fine Wine as predominantly a Bordeaux/Burgundy duopoly, arguing that Fine Wine – that is, expensive, desirable, luxury wine – can come from anywhere. A number of other speakers picked up his theme: Fine Wine needs attention to detail, according to Olivier Krug, and a passion for learning, according to Serge Hochar of Lebanon’s legendary Chateau Musar.

Above: Lulie Halstead, CEO of Wine Intelligence

Lulie Halstead of Wine Intelligence presented some new insights on Fine Wine consumers and their purchase motivations, and Michael Yurch, owner of the famous Sherry Lehmann wine store in New York City, along with German wine hero Ernst Loosen and online marketing expert Ryan Opaz, urged producers to tell their brand stories succinctly and effectively (in old and new media) to “connect” with these consumers. Michael Mondavi, scion of the Mondavi dynasty and co-founder of the Robert Mondavi winery in Napa in 1966, urged winemakers to be true to their roots, while warning the on-premise to keep a lid on their wine list prices, particularly as the world economy emerges from recession.

Above: Gerard Basset, Associate Director of Wine Intelligence



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A panel of leading restauranteurs and sommeliers, featuring several Michelin stars, Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, a World Sommelier Champion 2010 (Gerard Basset) and a local legend (Ferran Centelles of Barcelona’s El Bulli restaurant) debated the role of wine in the hospitality experience, concluding that the latest trend for lighter and subtly flavoured food styles lays down a new and interesting challenge to sommeliers and winemakers alike to make wines that compliment rather than overwhelm. Experts in luxury from around the world then debated the role of wine as a luxury good in the context of other products, arguing that the main lessons that could be drawn from other categories were to establish and maintain control of your brand throughout the supply chain, and to acknowledge that the emerging markets of Russia and China required new marketing and sales approaches. Kicking off the penultimate session of the conference, leading Australian winemaker Bruce Tyrell argued that makers of Fine Wine needed to pool their resources to achieve cut-through in the marketplace, and that this co-operation – while difficult to establish – is proving very effective at the organisation he belongs to, Australia’s First Families of Wine.

The final panel debated the future of the Fine Wine market in the USA, and there were some lively exchanges between leading US journalists Elin McCoy (Bloomberg) and Josh Greene (Wine & Spirit) over how critics, and 100-point rating scales, would evolve in the future, and whether the US would ever again see large numbers of consumers happily spending over $50 on a bottle of wine. To view the presentations from the conference, click here.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 1st, 2010 at 3:54 pm and is filed under News, Wine industry events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



Why don’t British girls love Australian? Who is drinking Australian wine in the UK?

Australian wine is engaging older wine drinkers in the UK, but is failing to excite younger UK wine drinkers to the same extent, and this is particularly true among female drinkers.

UK Vinitrac® findings from October 2010 show that of the 57% of the UK regular wine drinkers who opted for Aussie wines in the previous 6 months, two thirds were aged over 45 years old, with 1 in 4 of them being aged over 65 years old. Those not currently purchasing Australian wine in the UK tend to be of the ‘millennial generation’ (i.e. the under 35 year olds).

Millennial wine drinkers are an important group in the UK, accounting for just less than one quarter of the UK’s regular wine drinking population, which is around 3.5 million consumers (Source: Wine Intelligence UK Calibration study 2010). Millennials are very price conscious, but this doesn’t equate to low spend per bottle. Previous Wine Intelligence research has shown that they typically have a higher spend on wine per bottle than their older friends and family, as price is often used as a proxy for quality — i.e. the higher the price, the better the quality.

On the positive side for Australian producers, this means that current UK drinkers of Australian wine are a group of frequent-consuming, savvy wine drinkers who enjoy being adventurous with their wine choices. This has the knock-on effect that they are not exclusive Aussie wine lovers, but do have a New World wine bias: South Africa, Chile and California are particularly preferred source countries, with South Africa exceeding the popularity of French wines for this group.

Australian wine also causes a gender divide, proving more popular amongst men than women. 60% of regular female wine drinkers in the UK are not currently drinking (at least, they are not knowingly drinking) Australian wine, compared with 45% of men who currently do not reach for Australian wine amongst their source countries. Younger female wine drinkers say they steer clear of Australian wines, with some considering it to be ‘boring’. However, it should be noted that these younger female consumers are less influenced by where a wine comes from, and are more heavily influenced by



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known brands and varietals, a seemingly high opportunity therefore for Australian producers. And why does Australian wine appeal to its UK drinkers? Amongst its drinkers, Australian wine is favoured for its great taste and perceived prestige: 77% of drinkers really enjoy the taste of wines from Australia, 65% state they are proud to serve Australian wines to their friends and 3 in 5 say Australia makes some of the best wines in the world.

Tags: Australia, UK

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 16th, 2011 at 5:11 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both

comments and pings are currently closed.



Marketing to Millennials like me

Natasha Rastegar, Project Executive

Wine remains fashionable among British 20-somethings – my age group – and it is also cool to have a bit of knowledge about it.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean we think we know much about wine. When faced with the pressure of making the wine purchase decision, price (the highest we can afford) and tradition (the most traditional looking bottle we can find) naturally become our quality safety nets. More modern fun labels that perhaps hold greater aesthetic appeal, often present a bit of a risk that we are not always willing to take.

And contrary to popular (marketing) belief, we do not facebook (and certainly don’t twitter) our days away. At least not talking about wine anyway. A lot of us became familiar with facebook as a social tool, as a way of connecting with friends, when once upon a time it was limited to certain universities in the USA and England. Of course times are changing rapidly, and the possibilities of social media are constantly expanding and evolving, but the wine category has yet to find a successful way of engaging with us on this level.

Such behavioural traits of the ways under 35 year olds – the Millennials’ – interact with the wine category have been studied in depth by Wine Intelligence. Research shows that Millennials account for just under one quarter of the UK’s regular wine drinking population, with the average spend per bottle being higher than that of consumers from older age groups. The Wine Intelligence Millennials report is available as part of Vinisub and provides a detailed analysis of the under-35s in the UK and their relationship with wine, including: what we look for, what we don’t and how to target such an important group in the UK wine market.

Click here to learn more about the Wine Intelligence Millennials report as part of Vinisub.

Tags: Millennials, Social Media, Vinisub

This entry was posted on Friday, July 30th, 2010 at 4:04 pm and is filed under News, Wine consumers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



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Wine in pubs and restaurants in the UK: are they getting it right yet? Maybe it’s the January blues, or maybe it’s one of those long overdue New Year’s resolutions: for now at least I’m boycotting the wine that’s typically served in pubs and casual dining restaurants.

There are, of course, some notable exceptions – pubs and restaurants that deliver a great wine experience. Unfortunately I can count them on the fingers of one hand. Over the past month or so I can safely say I’ve been disappointed by what I’ve been served – and how it has been served – in most on-trade establishments.

I took my daughter out for lunch on a Saturday just before Christmas to an informal Italian restaurant, which is part of a chain. Feeling a bit festive, I decided to treat myself to a glass of wine and looked at the wines on offer. I was shocked to see that wines by the glass were only offered in 250ml. Now call me Scrooge, but £6.25 for a glass of quite basic wine is a bit steep in my book. When I asked for a smaller serving, I was told that they only serve ‘large’ glasses of wine. The thing was, not only did I not want to pay that much but more importantly, I didn’t want to drink that much either. Surely this practice of serving only large glasses can’t be doing the cause of wine as a ‘responsible drink of choice’ much good?

Then there’s the condition of the product. Recently I’ve been served wine in three pubs – two of which position themselves as upmarket gastro-pubs – that quite frankly was out of condition. Now, I’m realistic enough to know what to expect from the wines I order. But old, corked and generally out of condition wine is not good enough. Our typical wine drinkers are being led to believe that this is what the wine should taste like, again, letting the side down for those in the industry working hard to promote quality.

Let’s deal with the stock excuses. Those who promote larger glasses tend to fall back on the stock answer of “it’s more profitable”. Up to a point, Lord Copper. The “profit” in this case only happens if a) I actually decide to go to the restaurant/pub in question and b) decide to order wine. On the basis of my recent experience, I will not be going back to that restaurant again, and if I ever did, I would not order wine. No punter = no profit.



Then there’s the habitual moan from the trade about keeping wines in good condition to serve by the glass. I agree it’s an issue, but how difficult can it be to do a daily stock check and sampling, and vacuum seal any open bottles at the end of service? My view is: if you’re not prepared to look after your wine by the glass offer, don’t offer it – leave it to those that can do it, and don’t undermine wine’s reputation.

So here’s my New Year Resolution – gin and tonic. I can order it in the size I want and it’s never out of condition. Like most resolutions, it won’t last long, so the wine trade in South London shouldn’t lose too much sleep. But is this the kind of attitude that the wine industry wants to foster?

Lulie Halstead CEO, Wine Intelligence

Tags: On-trade

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 10th, 2010 at 4:43 pm and is filed under News, On-premise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



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UK market migrations: cue the Prosecco years If the previous ten years can be characterised as the ‘Champagne decade’, I think it’s safe to say we’re now entering the ‘Prosecco years’. According to UK Wine Landscape Report 2010, 15% of the nation’s 28 million regular wine drinkers now drink Prosecco, up from 8% in 2007.

And it’s easy to see why. Prosecco is rapidly becoming a favourite sparkling tipple among UK wine drinkers: it offers a great tasting sparkle, at a low cost whilst importantly retaining a sophisticated brand image.

Prosecco’s success comes at a time of increasing financial uncertainty, and while Champagne remains the nation’s favourite sparkling wine, the competition from lower cost sparkling wine products is growing.

The UK Landscape report also shows that price in general is becoming more influential. 33% of UK regular wine drinkers now say that they ‘don’t mind what they buy so long as the price is right’, compared to only 23% a year ago. Over 7 in 10 consumers say that a promotional offer is important or very important in determining what they purchase.

UK consumers will still spend good money on still and sparkling wines, but they will need to be sure they are getting exceptional value for that spending.

Links to related info:

Landscape reports The Sparkling report series Vinisub Premium (subscribtion service which include UK Landscapes)

Tags: Landscapes, UK

This entry was posted on Monday, September 27th, 2010 at 6:27 pm and is filed under News, Wine markets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



Shifting Styles: Rosé and Prosecco driving long-term change in drinking patterns Despite all the noise about new styles of wine available, consumers tend to be slow to change their basic style preferences – a red wine drinker is unlikely to suddenly switch to white, and vice versa.

However over time we can see that wine drinking tastes are changing. In the UK and the USA, for which we have consistent tracking data going back to 2007, we can observe some of the behavior changes that have taken place over the past 3 years. The more ticklish – but interesting – questions are: what impact do these trends have on future consumption, and what are the implications for producers?

I win no prizes for pointing out the big growth in rosé as a wine style in the UK market over the past 3 years. Rosé, already a popular drink in 2007 with around 10 million drinkers (45% of the monthly wine drinking population at the time), has today grown its base in the UK to 16 million drinkers (source: Wine Intelligence Vinitrac® UK, 2007-10). While the majority of the growth in new rosé drinkers has come from younger adults, often entering the wine category for the first time, some of the significant volume growth has come from middle-aged drinkers who are switching to rosé from white wine.

In the US, the rosé story is also one of growth, but notably different: here rosé (or “blush”) wines have been a mainstream product, albeit a sweeter, more downmarket one, for decades, and this segment of the market has been in decline for the past 10 years. Replacing it, slowly, are drier rosé styles, which are creeping into the drinking portfolios of more sophisticated consumers, but not yet in any meaningful volume. Thus, in the US, you have a rosé drinking population that has grown from around 15 million Americans in 2007 to 28 million today, but rosé volumes continue to decline (sources: Wine Intelligence Vinitrac® USA, 2007-10; Impact Databank).

Sparkling wine is another category that has seen some interesting shifts in consumer behaviour. More people on both sides of the Atlantic say they drink sparkling wine today than three years ago; the main beneficiaries of this growth have been Prosecco, and to a lesser extent Cava. Prosecco in particular has posted some impressive gains: it has doubled its base of drinkers in both the UK



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and the USA over the past 3 years, and around 3.6 million Brits and 5 million Americans say they’ve drunk it in the past 6 months (sources: Wine Intelligence Vinitrac® UK & Vinitrac® USA, 2007-10).

What are the implications of this shift in the geology of the world’s two most important imported wine markets? Our view is that growing your base of consumers is a leading indicator of volume change: ergo, the expansion of the Prosecco audience will lead, over the next few years, to a ramping up of volumes as retailers grow their Prosecco ranges in response to demand, and consumers devote more of their spend to Prosecco. This feedback loop has already taken place in the UK rosé market, where the growth in the base has been followed by a significant increase in volumes in recent years; our view is that it will do so in the US as well, though the decline of old-style blush wines will continue to mask this in the short term.

By Richard Halstead, COO

Tags: Richard Halstead, Wine Style

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 12:19 pm and is filed under News, Wine consumers. You can follow any responses to this entry through

the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



Decline of the UK drinker? Despite record numbers of wine drinkers in the UK, it seems that the UK love affair with wine is stalling. Evidence from the latest Wine Intelligence Portraits UK segmentation study suggests that the UK wine industry has been good at recruiting new drinkers to the category, but has been less successful at turning the nation into involved wine consumers.

UK Portraits shows that the nation’s 28 million regular wine drinkers are pouring themselves a glass an average of 9.5 times per month, down from the 11 times per month recorded in the same study three years ago.

Fortunately for the wine industry, the fall in consumption per person has been offset by an increase in the UK regular wine drinking population (defined as adults drinking wine at least once a month), which has grown by 5 million since 2007.

The Portraits UK segmentation brings us much closer to the types of consumer we are seeing in the wine category, and is an essential tool in addressing their needs better. At the moment the wine industry in the UK is excelling at getting people to try wine, but not making people care about it.

To purchase UK Portraits please contact us or learn more about Portraits here

UK Portraits is available free to members of Vinisub Premium , the Wine Intelligence report subscription service.

Tags: Portraits, UK

This entry was posted on Monday, September 27th, 2010 at 6:04 pm and is filed under News, Wine consumers, Wine markets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



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Wine in the On-trade Report Due for publication in February 2011

UK wine drinkers have been conspicuous by their absence from the on-trade in the past 2 years. With the economy mired in recession, the last thing on their minds appears to have been going out to drink and to eat. In particular, the drop-off in dining out (and increase in in-home entertaining) has been a big blow to wine in the on-trade, given the consumer tendency to drink wine with food.

However, with the economy supposedly on the mend, are we about to turn the corner in terms of on-trade wine sales? What factors are separating the good operators from the bad in this sector? And what can wine suppliers do to improve their on-trade sales strategies? All these questions and more will be addressed.



All I want is a decent £10 Chardonnay – is that so hard? I’m a big believer in nosing round wine aisles. It’s a great place to learn about consumers; it’s also amazing what you learn about how hard it (still) is to shop for wine. I recently had the pleasure of shopping for a mix of mid-priced bottles of wine from a selection of UK supermarkets situated near me in South London. My mission was simple: having ploughed through the decent drinking wine (ie the stuff we serve to friends at dinner parties) over Christmas/New Year, I was tasked with replenishing the stocks.

Easy, I thought – and maybe even quite fun. Interesting bottles for GBP8-15. In nice supermarkets in a solidly middle class urban area. As they say on Top Gear, how hard could that be? Fairly painful, as it turns out.

Now I know that if I was doing this shopping mission “properly”, I would have gone to several very good specialist retailers near to where I live. However I wanted to try the expensive-wine-in-supermarket experience out for two reasons: the supermarkets near me now have grown Fine Wine sections recently and I’ve never tried shopping from them; and like lots of other busy working mums, I was in a rush and needed to get some groceries as well.

I should also confess that I’m, er, quite familiar with the more value end of the wine aisle, and have been known to snap up end of aisle offers when they are from producers whom I rate. When it comes to £5-8 wine, I’m reasonably clear on what I want, and how to look for it. Yet as I stared at the parts of the wine shelves that normally my eyes don’t reach, I was struck by how difficult it was to differentiate between bottles of expensive wine. Even in the supermarkets that did display shelf-talkers positioned under the correct bottles – and many did not – the words crisp, fresh and buttery dominated every white wine description. Now, I know that these words are reassuring and comforting for the majority of wine consumers and can certainly help in the under £6 section – but in the over £10 section, surely we need to do a bit better?

I was also a bit foxed by the “Fine Wine” navigation system in several supermarkets. Fine Wine section wines were typically priced from GBP10-GBP20, and yet I found many bottles located on the regular shelves for over GBP10. Were the ones on the regular shelves not supposed to be as good? I also found the range in many cases to be very narrow – deceptively so, given the big display



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cases used in some retailers. In the end I got some bottles, several of which have now been deployed successfully, including a very decent £10 Chardonnay. But I did end up making a separate trip at the weekend to a well-known specialist retailer to fill in some of the gaps.

I’m not dismissing expensive wine in supermarkets just yet, and I’m also not against them stocking expensive wine on principle, if nothing else but to show consumers there’s more to the category than 3 for £10. But judging from my recent experience, I do think that the supermarkets have got a long way to go in terms of merchandising before the expensive wine offer really makes sense to the average browsing shopper.

Lulie Halstead Chief Executive, Wine Intelligence

Tags: Chardonnay, Fine Wine, Lulie Halstead, Pubs, Quality, Standards, White wine

This entry was posted on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 11:35 am and is filed under News, On-premise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.



What is “Luxury wine” in the UK? “Luxury wine” is one of the most abused, and ambiguous, terms employed by the drinks industry. Everyone claims to sell it, nobody is exactly sure what it is, and consumers aren’t always convinced that they’ve found it, even when they’ve been assured that’s what they’re drinking.

We’re not talking here about the rarefied First Growths of Bordeaux, whose prices have risen into the stratosphere. Instead, we’re more concerned with the upscale wines available to all of us: wines which we purchase for celebrations, to impress our guests, to offer as gifts, or as a personal indulgence. That edges us closer to a definition of luxury wine, but it’s still not close enough.

There are consumers who can afford to spend £15 on a midweek wine, which they will drink without ceremony in front of the TV. There are also, as we all know, wines that retail for £7 that may offer far more pleasure than something at twice the price.

But there’s no doubt that price is a factor in our definition of luxury wine. Wine Intelligence’s consumer research on this subject set the bar at £10 – not because we assume that all wine above that price is special, but because it provides a meaningful starting point. Did we set our sights too low? Some might argue that we did, but considering that the current average retail price for wine in the UK is around £4.32, and only a small proportion of wine is sold beyond the £7 mark, we’d argue we’re simply being realistic.

Ten pounds is even a decent price in the independent sector, where specialist retailers can hand-sell wines to a generally more knowledgeable clientele. A study of 100 such retailers carried out by Off Licence News this year found their average selling price was £8.96, and only 26% of wines in the sector were sold for £10 or more.

When we spoke to regular wine drinkers, in the UK as well as around the world, we were scrupulous to ensure our own preconceptions about luxury wine were not brought to the table. We wanted to know what they consider to be luxury wine: what attributes they expect to find when they buy a wine at more than twice the price of the market average. As chief executive Lulie Halstead put it: “If we’re to define what luxury wine is, the industry shouldn’t be listening to itself.”



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Heritage is the most important factor, it emerged. Consumers expect that luxury wine should have a history to it, but also a sense of place: provenance is the number two influence. That might mean Bordeaux or Burgundy, and for many consumers it certainly does. But the world is opening up. Speaking at Fine Wine 2010 in Ribera del Duero – a major international conference organised by Wine Intelligence – Tim Atkin MW used his keynote speech to declare that “Fine wine can come from anywhere”, thanks to improvements in quality in every continent.

The research showed that the next most important considerations are the hand-crafted credentials of the wine; its critical acclaim (which is where the likes of Robert Parker have a role to play); its family history; and finally its rarity factor and the ethics of the producer.

But there were other conclusions to draw – not about the qualities of the wine we were discussing, but to do with consumers themselves. Because not all luxury wine drinkers are the same.

The people who buy luxury wine most regularly – those on high incomes with a keen interest in the category – account for 60% of the value, but only 12% of the consumer base. They’re easily outnumbered by the occasional buyers – consumers who may be just as involved with wine, but typically don’t have the spare cash to delve into the luxury wine fixture more than once or twice a year.

The UK wine industry has been talking for many years – mostly among itself – about the need for premiumisation, and how it will persuade consumers to pay more for better quality wine. The recession and the three-for-£10 fetish put that conversation on hold.

But with recovery on the way, and most producing countries recognising that price points are on the move anyway thanks to currency and excise issues, the focus is once again on the upper end of the market. For some, the above-£10 segment will be the icing on the cake. For others, it may be the only path to profitability in the competitive UK marketplace.

Wine Intelligence’s full findings on Luxury wine in the UK is available as a free bonus report when subscribing to Vinsub before 31st August.

Tags: Fine Wine, luxury wine, Vinisub



This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 4:22 pm and is filed under Market research, News, Wine branding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. Luxury UK Wine Consumer Report Report published in June 2010

“Luxury wine” is one of the most abused, and ambiguous, terms employed by the drinks industry. Everyone claims to sell it, nobody is exactly sure what it is, and consumers aren’t always convinced that they’ve found it, even when they’ve been assured that that’s what they’re drinking.

We’re not talking here about the rarefied First Growths of Bordeaux, which have become the preserve of investment bankers and the world’s super-rich. Instead, we’re more concerned with the upscale wines available to all of us: wines that we buy for celebrations, to impress our guests, to offer as gifts, or as a personal indulgence.

But there’s no doubt that price is a factor in our definition of luxury wine here. Wine Intelligence’s consumer research present in this report sets the bar at £10 – not because we assume that all wine above that price is special, but because it provides a meaningful starting point. Did we set our sights too low? Considering that the current average retail price for wine in the UK is around £4.32, and only a small proportion of wine is sold beyond the £7 mark, we’d argue we’re simply being realistic.

Ten pounds is even a decent price in the independent sector, where specialist retailers can hand-sell wines to a generally more knowledgeable clientele. A study of 100 such retailers carried out by Off Licence News this year found that their average selling price was £8.96, and only 26% of wines in the sector were sold for £10 or more.

This report looks at what defines a luxury wine for the UK consumer and who these consumers are.



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XIII. News extract from The Drinks Business

“Fine wine sets a gold standard”

“Fine Wine prices put in a dramatic increase in 2010 – with the benchmark Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 up more than 40% in just 12 months.”

These rapidly-rising prices have stoked fears that the top end of the market is approaching bubble territory.

If we convert the sterling-based Liv-ex 100 into other global currencies, however, a somewhat different picture emerges. When based in euros, the index only moved past the level set in July 2007 in October 2010, while in dollars the index remains five points (or 1.2%) off its high, reached in June 2008. If we look at the yen, the results are even more dramatic: the index remains 29.7% off its all-time high. In yen terms, we are still a long way from a bubble.

And what of China, the current driver of global demand? Based on the dollar-linked Renminbi, the index sits 10% below its June 2008 high. For the Chinese, Fine Wine prices are still some way below historic highs. Only Lafite Rothschild and a handful of other brands (such as Duhart Milon and the First Growths’ second wines) have far surpassed their pre-2009 pricing. The majority of the data used to calculate the Liv-ex Fine Wine Index is in pounds and euros (with London and Bordeaux remaining the leading hubs for trade buyers).

This suggests these results should be treated as indicative rather than definitive. Nonetheless these comparisons show that the rapid increases we have seen in London pricing are partly due to currency movements – or rather the depreciation of sterling since 2007.

With the Bank of England continuing to press forward with its quantitative easing plan, this is a situation unlikely to change in the medium term.

This can be seen if we base the index in gold, the classic store of government wealth.



With gold prices almost keeping pace with wine prices in recent years (even when measured in sterling), the trend since the tumultuous economic events in late 2008 has been broadly flat. In essence, Fine Wine has started to behave as a store of value. It would seem that Sauternes is not the only liquid gold.

Fine Wine Monitor, taken from the February 2011 edition of the drinks business.



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“Private dining on offer at Harrods” “Harrods has opened a private dining room in the heart of its food and wine department as a unique location for board meetings or private parties.” Set in the newly revamped Wine Rooms, the Tasting Room can cater for up to 16 guests and offers menus created by the store’s in-house chefs. Instead of a wine list, guests can choose from the store’s 2,000 lines with a flat corkage fee of £15 a bottle. Sommeliers will also be on hand to advise on wine pairings and wine masterclasses focused on a particular grape or region can also be arranged. The menus on the whole feature traditional British dishes such as fillet of Scottish beef, grilled baby squid and Eton mess pudding. Rupert Millar, 01.03.2011 “Champagne section completes Harrods wine shop revamp” “Harrods has completed the refurbishment and expansion of its wine shop with the opening of its Champagne area on Tuesday this week.”

The section, which houses 230 different Champagnes under the lights of a large chandelier, forms part of the new 7,000 square feet space containing an aroma zone, Fine Wine vault, events room and tasting bar with an Enomatic wine preservation system. The impressive new shop has allowed head wine buyer Alistair Viner to expand the wine range from a little over 2,000 to 3,000 lines, as well as conduct tastings using a regularly updated selection of 18 wines from the Enomatic. The enlarged area has also enabled Viner to create an air-conditioned, glass-encased Fine Wine vault for displaying large formats, first growths and special collections. “We’ve found a big upturn in the Fine Wine market and so we wanted something special,” said Viner, who struggled to find space in the old wine shop to effectively display the more rarified wines on offer. The vault currently contains a Chave Cuvée Cathelin collection with all six vintages ever made of this micro-cuvée launched in 1990, as well as a 27-litre



bottle of Flaccianello della Pieve, a verticle of Masseto comprising every vintage since its inception in 1986 and other highly collectable wines from around the world. Referring to the wine shop as a whole, which was conceived two years ago and has been under construction since August, Viner explained: “We want to grow our base of customers and offer people who are interested in wine something to go home with, whether it’s £7.95 or £795.” Further highlights in the bright, modern and spacious new shop include the aroma zone which contains the first ever interactive Nez du Vin allied to a plasma screen. “We hope to use this as a selling tood which will list the wines on sale with these flavours,” added Viner. “We are trying to create a space that has a lot of dwell time,” he said, referring to the Nez du Vin as well as the open plan nature of the new shop and tasting area which will include cheese and charcuterie from the Food Halls above. “It is all about education and the lifestyle around wine because we’ve found that people want to learn, and an educated customer is one who will want to spend more.” Viner plans to use a separate room alongside the retail space for winemaker dinners and wine courses. The shop also includes two spirits sections, one for top end brown spirits such as Cognac and Scotch, as well as an area selling cigars. The wine range starts from £6.95 and the shop is open from 9am - 9pm. Click here for a brief guided tour of the new space. Patrick Schmitt, 17.11.2010



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“New lease of life for Trocadero” “London’s Trocadero building will host a new luxury bar and restaurant after landlord Criterion Capital granted a lease for the former Rex Club to independent on-trade operator KPIP UK.”

The takeover of this venue, which comes complete with a 3am licence, marks the latest upmarket step for the tourist hub of Leicester Square after the opening of the W London Hotel earlier this month. Describing the deal as “an extraordinary opportunity”, Jonathan Moradoff of Davis Coffer Lyons, advisor to Criterion Capital, said: “Such large sites as this are very hard to come by and we are very pleased with the rental level achieved on this unique opportunity.” Criterion was asking for rental offers in the region of £750,000 for the 11,000 square foot site. Moradoff outlined his vision for the project, observing: “Although in the heart of London’s club land with hundreds of thousands of people passing by every day, the area has been crying out for a new, more sophisticated premier leisure destination and this will provide it with a venue to rival other successful late-night operations in Mayfair.” Gabriel Savage, 22.02.2011



“Uncovering the motivations behind wine buying” “Recent data shows that while consumers have clear preferences about what they want from a wine in theory, their actual choices at the point of purchase tend to be influenced by more immediate factors.”

The figures come from research agency DoILikeIt? who found that while people feel quite strongly when asked about provenance, green credentials, the size of the producer and its production ethics, when faced with an aisle of wines they will most likely be swayed by discount offers and medals on bottles. Understanding what consumers look for in a wine is complicated enough, says DoILikeIt? director and wine commentator Robert Joseph, so the job of communicating a relevant message to the consumer in a non-patronising way is unsurprisingly a minefield. While consumers react positively to peer recommendations, including via social media forums such as Facebook and Twitter, are strongly against celebrity endorsement or ownership of brands. Joseph will investigate this thorny issue in greater depth at the drinks business Annual Conference on Monday 28 February in central London. For further details go to www.dbconference.co.uk db, 21.02.2011



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“Branding not important for UK wine consumers” “UK consumers are generally un-swayed by branding when it comes to picking a wine off the shelf, according to a new report.” Figures from the Wilson Drinks Report (WDR) show that only 3% opt for the brand over any other factor. “What is also very interesting is that grape variety is more important in shoppers’ decision making than either country of origin or brand,” said Tim Wilson, managing director of WDR. According to the research, 9% of shoppers said they decide on their choice of wine by grape variety, while 6% went for country of origin. The quarterly WDR report claims that 47% of British adults who buy wine for themselves or others in supermarkets or off-licences said that the first thing they decide upon is colour. Price was also found to be important, with 18% shoppers saying that it was special offers that initially drew them to a particular bottle and 13% said they chose the retail price primarily. Research findings were gathered through a monthly online consumer panel run by YouGov of approximately 2,000 British adults. Alan Lodge, 16.02.2011



“The new facet of wine enjoyment” “Neil Morris, director of innovation for the Engine Group, will outline to the drinks business Annual Conference the raft of dangers and pitfalls facing drinks companies operating in social media.”

Consumers today have more information available to them than ever before thanks to the internet. As a result, given that we are spending more time online, our perception of entertainment is evolving. As consumers reject overt advertising and refer instead to their virtual peers for insight and recommendations, brands are having to rethink the way in which they communicate with consumers. Neil Morris, director of innovation for the Engine Group, explains: “It’s more about how we can create an experience that draws people into a dialogue and a process of co-creation, where it’s all part of the overall experience of the brand.” Consequently the discovery of a brand is now much more an element of our purchasing behaviour, offering us a virtual “taster” of the brand culture. Morris will discuss the pros and cons facing brands venturing into the world of social media in greater depth at the drinks business fifth Annual Conference on Monday 28 February in Central London. For further details go to www.dbconference.co.uk db, 21.02.2011



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XIV. “Why is alcohol consumption falling? By James Morgan from BBC News (www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12397254 visit dated 05.03.11)

Despite new evidence that more people are being treated in hospital for

excessive drinking, the overall trend is that we are drinking less as a nation.

Why?

Figures from Alcohol Concern and the ONS showing parts of this is due to

Government warning on binge drinking and more and more people received

education on alcohol consumption and health. (Alcohol misuse: tackling the

UK epidemic February 2008 by BMA Board of Science, Smoking and drinking

among adults 2009, a report on the 2009 General Lifestyle Survey by office

for National Statistics)

Pubs were closing down, duty on beer was rising, and sales of cheap

supermarket wine were rocketing. The trend has changed from larger to wine

and drinking indoor with meal than going out.

Both British Innkeeper Institutes (BII) and British Beer and Pub Association

(BBPA) given guidance and training to their members following the Licensing

Act 2003: -

- Raising standards in licensed retail – promoting responsible alcohol

retailing

- Brought in smaller measure on Wine and Spirits since October 2010

- Launched Challenge 18 & Challenge 21 – Alcohol Awareness

message to young people, if in doubt always ask.



XV. Home Office Drugs and Alcohol Newsletter February 2011 on Alcohol policy – latest news

On 30th November 2010, the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill was

announced in Parliament. There are a number of alcohol provisions which

are being taken forward in the Bill.

Ban below cost sales - on 18th January 2011 the government announced its

intention to ban retailers from selling alcohol below the rate of duty plus VAT.

Royal Wedding - following a short consultation in January 2011, the

Government laid an order in Parliament on Wednesday 9th February to relax

licensing hours to mark the wedding of Prince William and Catherine

Middleton on 29th April, 2011. This order will extend licensing hours from

11pm – 1am on Friday 29th April / 30th April and Saturday 30th April / Sunday

1st May for: -

- The sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises;

- Regulated entertainment;

- Late night refreshment where alcohol is sold for consumption on the

premises.

The order will apply automatically to any licensed premises with the relevant

authorizations in England and Wales. The order must be debated by both

Houses of Parliament before becoming law.



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XVI. PM ’s Speech on Tourism Serpentine Gallery 12

August 2010

Prime Minister David Cameron has delivered a speech in central London on the challenges and opportunities that tourism presents.

Introduction This is not a speech I had to make. It’s a speech I wanted to make. I wanted to do it here, at the heart of the most internationally visited city in the world and I’m delighted that you’re all able to come.

I want to talk about just how incredibly important I think our tourism industry is and what we need to do now to make the most of it not just here in London but right across our country.

For too long tourism has been looked down on as a second class service sector. That’s just wrong. Tourism is a fiercely competitive market, requiring skills, talent, enterprise and a government that backs Britain. It’s fundamental to the rebuilding and rebalancing of our economy.

It’s one of the best and fastest ways of generating the jobs we need so badly in this country. And it’s absolutely crucial to us making the most of the Olympics and indeed a whole decade of great international sport across Britain. Let me explain.

Economy First, our economy. Britain has to earn its way in the world. And that’s never been more true than right now as we fight to get to grips with the biggest deficit in the G20 and rebuild and rebalance our economy for a more sustainable future.

That’s why I’ve been visiting some of our great potential export markets in Turkey and India and why I’m also going to China later in the year.

We urgently need to advance our trade with the great emerging economies and to increase our exports all over the world.

I’ve already made a speech about the importance of rebalancing our economy and the vital role of supporting our growing industries, including aerospace, pharmaceuticals, high-value manufacturing, hi- tech engineering and low carbon technology.

But tell me this: which industry is our third highest export earner behind chemicals and financial services? Manufacturing? IT? Education? No, it’s tourism. And it’s not just a great export earner. There’s also a huge domestic market too.



UK domestic tourists made 126 million overnight trips last year spending £22 billion in the process. In total, tourism contributes £115 billion to our economy every year. It employs nearly ten per cent of our national workforce. And while London remains the country’s most prosperous tourist hub tourism is also a great employer in the regions.

Already tourism accounts for a quarter of all jobs in West Somerset. And for more than a tenth of all jobs in my own area of West Oxfordshire. Look at how Liverpool benefited from being the European Cultural Capital in 2008.

Jobs in the city’s hotels and bars rose by over a quarter jobs in the creative industries increased by half and one million hotel beds were sold in the city. They say in business when you want to do better you can often do more with your biggest customers. The same is true of our industries. We can look to the best to do even more. Tourism presents a huge economic opportunity. Not just bringing business to Britain but right across Britain driving new growth in the regions and helping to deliver the rebalancing of our national economy that is so desperately needed.

Pride in our country But tourism is about more than economics. We should be proud of our potential because we are proud of our country and what it has to offer. I love going on holiday in Britain.

I’ve holidayed in Snowdonia, South Devon and North Cornwall, the Lake District, Norfolk, the Inner Hebrides, the Highlands of Scotland, the canals of Staffordshire to name just a few.

I love our varied seaside towns, from Oban to Llandudno, from Torquay to Deal. I love our historic monuments, our castles, country houses, churches, theatres and festivals. Our beautiful beaches like the East Asian" beach that Pierce Brosnan surfs on in Die Another Day which was actually Newquay.

Or the Mediterranean coastline that Gwyneth Paltrow was washed up on at the end of Shakespeare in Love which was actually Holkham beach in Norfolk where I went swimming one April. I love our national parks, our hundreds of historic gardens and national network of waterways. And our museums including three of the five most visited art museums in the world right here in London the British Museum, the National Gallery and the Tate Modern.

And of course here at the Serpentine Gallery where last years Pavilion by SANAA became the third most visited exhibition for architecture and design in the world and SANAA has just won this years prestigious Pritzker prize.



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People sometimes characterize culture as a choice between old and new; between classical or pop, great heritage or modern art. But in Britain it’s not one or the other, it’s both. It’s Glyndebourne and Glastonbury. The Bristol Old Vic and the Edinburgh Fringe. The Bodleian Library and the Hay literary festival. Ascot and the Millennium Stadium; Nelson’s column and the Olympic Park’s Orbit.

We have so much to be proud of so much to share with each other and so much to show off to the rest of the world.

An unprecedented opportunity And we have in the coming decade an unprecedented opportunity to take our tourism industry to a whole new level with so many big international sporting moments that will put us at the centre of the world stage year after year. Of course the Olympics # which will see the Triathlon right here in Hyde Park (and of course the Beach Volleyball on Horseguards$Parade which I’ll be able to see from my bedroom window.)

Bur also the Champions$League final at Wembley next year. The Rugby League World Cup in 2013. The Commonwealth Games in 2014. The Rugby Union World Cup in 2015. And we’re fighting hard to get the football World Cup in 2018. And that’s just to name a few. Not to mention the Ryder Cup or the annual Six Nations. This really will be the greatest sporting decade in British history. And of course there will be great non- sporting moments too like the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. We have to ensure that when the cameras leave after all these great events the people don’t leave with them. And that the benefits are spread across the country and not just felt here in London or in our other major cities. We can do even better - the missed opportunity We must not let these opportunities slip through our grasp. But quite frankly, right now, we’re just not doing enough to make the most of our tourism. The last government underplayed our tourist industry. There were eight different Ministers with responsibility for tourism in just thirteen years. They just didn’t get our heritage. They raided the national lottery taking money from heritage because it didn’t go with their image of cool Britannia. At one point they even referred to Britain as a young country. More than a seventh of England is designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty. And yet the UK is only ranked 24th in the world on natural beauty. We’re behind Japan; Finland and Ireland. Ireland are 12th.



Of course Ireland is beautiful but why is the UK twelve places behind? It’s a question of perception. And the truth is we’ve just not been working hard enough to celebrate our country and home and sell our country abroad. Huge opportunities are being missed. The UK has fallen from sixth to eleventh place in the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Ratings between 2008 and 2009. I want to see us in the top five destinations in the world. But that means being much more competitive internationally. Take Chinese tourists, for example. We’re their 22nd most popular destination. But Germany is forecast to break into their top ten. Why can’t we? Currently we only have 0.5 per cent of the market share of Chinese tourists. If we could increase that to just 2.5 per cent this could add over half a billion pounds of spending to our economy and some sources suggest this could mean as many as 10,000 new jobs. Currently we have 3.5 per cent of the world market for international tourism. For every half a per cent increase in our share of the world market we can add £2.7 billion pounds to our economy, and more than 50,000 jobs. At a point when our economy is coming back from the brink we just can’t let this sort of opportunity pass us by. So what are we going to do about it? I’ll tell you. The strongest possible tourism strategy I want us to have the strongest possible tourism strategy. I think there are four parts. First, what government does nationally. Second, the role of local government and the support of the local area. Third, how we stimulate the private sector in tourism. And fourth, how we make policy in other areas that will impact the tourism industry. I want to have the strongest possible engagement with the tourism industry in each of these areas. And to start this debate today I want to say a few words about each. What Government does nationally First, what government does nationally. We’re going to bring a whole new approach and a new attitude to tourism. Because we think tourism is one of the missing pieces in the UK’s economic strategy. Our commitment to tourism is not new-found.



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In Opposition Jeremy Hunt championed its importance. We’ve now appointed John Penrose, as our Minister for Tourism and Heritage. He represents a seaside town, has a background in business and developed our policies on deregulation as a shadow minister. So I know he will bring great ability to his role and I want him to lead a new relationship with the tourism industry. We’re going to be a government that understands the huge potential of our tourism industry that gets tourism and that gives the industry the backing it needs. A successful tourism policy needs an active and engaged government. But taking Britain up the league table of tourist destinations isn’t something that we in government will do alone. It’s something that we will all do together. Industry in the lead but with government # and society as a whole # standing behind you every step of the way. Local Government and the support of the local area Second, local government and the support of the local area. Tourism is a local industry. You can’t support local industry with national diktats from Whitehall. The old model was just too top-down failing to incentivise innovation and local enterprise and failing to reward local authorities which seized the chance to support the expansion of their local economy. It completely disempowered the local area. We’re going to do things differently. The old Regional Development Agencies put bureaucratic boundaries over natural geography. Take the Cotswolds artificially spread across different Regional Development Agencies including he South East, the South West. Now if areas like this want to work together across those old, centrally-imposed boundaries they can. That is why we have invited local businesses and local authorities to come to us and tell us what works for them. And of course to tell us what doesn’t work like the current business rates system which fails to support the development of tourism. If a local council does more to attract tourists to its area they know they’ll be picking up costs but they’ll get none of the additional business rate revenue. Central government sucks in 100 per cent of this revenue generated by all local economic growth. This is just mad. Local authorities must be allowed to invest some of this back into their own communities. This wouldn’t just help tourism, it would help all sectors of local industry across our country. And it’s a vital part of how we can begin to rebalance our economy.



Stimulating the private sector Getting the local incentives right will also be crucial for the third part of our strategy and that’s stimulating the private sector. When we talk of the tourist industry it’s mostly in the private sector. You’re great entrepreneurs. But you need a government that creates the right conditions for entrepreneurship. Like small businesses in so many other sectors, our tourism industry has been strangled by the endless rise of red tape. So we’re going to free our 200 thousand tourism businesses from the red tape and excessive business taxes. For the next three years we’re waving some employment taxes on the first 10 jobs created by new businesses outside London, the South East and the Eastern Region. We’re cutting the main rate of corporation tax to 24p and the small companies rate to 20p. We’re reducing the time it takes to set up a business. And we’re stopping the removal of the tax breaks on furnished holiday lettings. And our new Regional Growth Fund creates an opportunity for the tourism sector to bid for support for its most creative ideas with £1 billion available to kick start projects that will drive private sector growth. Other key policy areas that affect tourism Fourth, we’re going to take a good look across government at all those policies that don’t fit neatly into the tourism or DCMS departmental box but which nonetheless impact on tourism in a big way. Visas. Infrastructure. From the speed of our broadband to the speed of our railways to the time it takes to clear customs at Heathrow. I can tell you already some of the things we’re going to change. We’re going to remove some of the obstacles that put people off coming here. For example, by working more closely with our international partners to improve the local delivery of visa services in key markets like China and India. This includes increasing the availability of online applications from just over a third to three-quarters by the end of the year with 100 per cent coverage by 2014. And we’re also supporting the ambition to develop a new network of high speed rail across the country. Because when a train to Brussels is as quick as a train to Bournemouth and it’s quicker to get from London to Paris than it is to get to Blackpool what chance do our great seaside towns have of drawing people from London? But perhaps more important than these specific changes is the broader change of direction. I want us to look at all these things not as isolated issues but from the perspective of our tourism industry both domestic and international.



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John Penrose is already looking at some of these issues as part of his report on increasing domestic tourism. At the moment 36 per cent of what Brits spend on holidays is spent at home. Can we up our game to raise that to 50 per cent? John Penrose is doing a report for me, which he will present in October, to tell me whether that is a realistic objective or not but I want us to aim high not low. In fact, I want John to go further. I want John to work with you day in and day out to develop a tourism strategy by the end of this year that brings together the best of the ideas you have that ensures London 2012 provides the best economic and tourism legacy that any Olympic host city has ever done and that sets us on a path to break into the top five tourist destinations in the world. Conclusion So that’s our goal and those are some of the ways that we’re going to raise our game to try and reach it. Today’s speech is an appeal to you tell us the tools you need to finish the job. Because as with so much of this agenda, making the most of our tourism industry is not simply about government action. It’s about what our communities and local businesses do. Reaping the gains of local tourism is one of the great economic tests of the Big Society. Can we come together to make our country more prosperous? Can we support new developments and new enterprise to boost our tourism and make the most of our great heritage and national assets? Can we seize the opportunity of this great decade of sport and especially the Olympics to deliver a lasting tourism legacy for the whole country and not just here in London? I really believe we can. I believe we can come together in a new nationwide effort to make this coming decade the best ever for tourism in Britain. This government will stand fully behind every effort. The challenge is now for you as an industry and for us together as a society. And I’m confident that together we will meet it.



XVII. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) –

Facts about alcohol consumption There is a clear issue in the UK with a minority of people misusing alcohol but

the debate about how to tackle this has become polarized. However the

importance of basing policy on facts should be an area upon which we can all

agree.

• Average alcohol consumption in the UK has fallen

- Average alcohol consumption has fallen by an estimated 11 per cent

between 2004 and 2011*.



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• More people are drinking responsibly

- People in Great Britain drinking over the recommended weekly guides

continues to fall

Men drinking more than 21 units a week has fallen from 31 per cent

in 2006 to 26 per cent in 2009

Women drinking more than 14 units a week down from 20 per cent

to 18 per cent

The downward trend has also occurred among 16-24 years olds,

with the drop in young men drinking more than recommend weekly

guidelines particularly stark; down from 30 per cent in 2006 to 21

per cent in 2009 (ONS, Smoking and drinking among adults 2009,

27 January 2011, p.48 & Table 2.2).

- Average weekly consumption remains below Government guidelines

and continues to drop:

Overall average consumption in the population is 11.9 units a week,

down from 13.5 in 2006

Average male consumption was 16.3 units a week in 2009 (down

from 18.7 in 2006)

Average female consumption is 8 units a week (down from 9 units

in 2006). (Ibid., Table 2.1)



• Binge drinking continues to decline

- Number of people reporting binge drinking (over units for men and 6

units for women) on at least one day in the previous week continues to

fall

Men down from 23 per cent in 2006 to 20 per cent in 2009. The

drop amongst men in the 16-24 age group has been even greater-

from 30 to 24 per cent.

Women down from 15 per cent in 2006 to 13 per cent in 2009

(ONS, Smoking and drinking among adults 2009, 27 January 2011,

Table 2.4).

• Underage drinking has declined

- The number of 11-15 year olds who has drunk in the previous week is

down from 26 per cent in 2001 to 18 per cent in 2009 (NHS Information

Centre, Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in

England 2009, 22 July 2010, p.10)

- The number of 11-15 year olds who have never drunk alcohol has

increased from 39 per cent in 2003 to 49 per cent in 2009 (ibid).

- Weekly alcohol consumption among 11-15 years olds who drink has

dropped from 12.7 units in 2007 to 11.6 units in 2009, the years fro

which comparable figures are available. Although methodology for

measuring consumption has changed, consumption appears to be still

higher than it was in the early 1990s (ibid., Table 4.12c)



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• Consumption in the UK is lower than in many of our European neighbors

- A report compiling data from the OECD, Eurostat and the WHO on

health in Europe found that the UK ranks 14th highest out of 31

countries in terms of adult alcohol consumption, behind France and

15th highest out of 28 countries in terms of deaths from chronic liver

disease, behind Germany (European Commission & OECD, Health at

a Glance: Europe 2010, December 2010, p.71)

- In 2008, people in the UK drank 28 per cent less than those in France

and 25 per cent less than in Germany (BBPA, Statistical Handbook

2010: A Compilation of Drinks Industry Statistics, August 2010, Table

K8, p.98).

• The laws already available to tackle alcohol misuse are not being enforced

- In the five years 2005 to 2009, just 34 people were prosecuted in

England and Wales for selling alcohol to a drunken person, an average

of just 7 people a year. 15 people have been prosecuted since 2005

(House of Commons Deposited Papers, DEP2010-2137, Home Office,

29 November 2010).

- Between 2005 and 2009, an average of just 16 people a year have

been convicted of purchasing alcohol on behalf of a person aged under

18 (ibid).

- Since 2005, the number of people prosecuted for offences relating to

the sale of alcohol to those under age has fallen by 60 per cent.

Convictions are down by 54 per cent (ibid).



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England Government Policy Alcohol Strategy

In 2004, the government published the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England. This was a major milestone: it was the first cross-government statement on the harm caused by alcohol, which included a shared analysis of the problem and a programme of action to respond to the issue.

The strategy sets out to: minimise the health harms, violence and anti-social behaviour associated with alcohol, while ensuring that people are able to enjoy alcohol safely and responsibly.

It specifically focuses on the minority of drinkers who cause the most harm to themselves, their communities and their families. They are:• young people under 18 who drink alcohol, many of whom are drinking more than young people did a decade ago • 18–24-year-old binge drinkers, a minority of whom are responsible for the majority of alcohol-related crime and disorder • harmful drinkers, many of whom don’t realise their pattern of drinking is causing harm to their health

Since the first cross-Government alcohol strategy the Government has developed this policy area with the release of further strategies and consultations covering areas such as alcohol and young people, controls on retailing of alcohol and new ways of enforcement, it has also consulted on potential future policies on issues from mandatory health labeling on bottles to controls on price and promotions. This policy area evolves rapidly so if you are a WSTA member, please consult the Policy Grid in the member’s section for an up to date summary of Government action.”

Licensing

In England and Wales, the Licensing Act 2003 came fully into force in November 2005. Licensing Authorities (usually local authorities) are responsible for licensing the sale and supply of alcohol, the provision of regulated entertainment and the provision of late night refreshment in England and Wales. If you are carrying on any of these activities, you will need the relevant authorisation and should speak to your local licensing authority.You can find your local authority by accessing the following link:http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/index.htm

The WSTA has produced clear and concise Licensing Guides for Producers,



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retailers, wholesalers and distance sellers. These explain licensing requirements since the Licensing Act 2003 came into force and are available FREE for members and can be found in the members area of our website or for non-members to purchase on the publications page.

Click here to access an introduction to the Licensing Act 2003

uk wine consumption research report

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