Gusbourne, the premium English sparkling wine producer, has announced its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2023, reflecting another solid performance for the company, and a boost for the English wine sector in general.
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One comment on my recent piece on the importance of branding was that it is all very easy to argue that one should invest in branding but it would be rather more useful, at least to those already 'converted', to provide some insights into how best this might be achieved.
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A recurring theme of most marketing orientated articles in Harpers is the need for wine producers to develop, and then promote effectively, their individuality: to communicate to the trade and the consumer, hopefully in an inspiring way, what makes them special and separates them from their competition.
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Given the space devoted recently to predictions relating to the future of the wine business I've been surprised at the lack of attention focused on the new EU vine planting regime which is due to come into effect at the end of 2015. From that date each member state with over 50,000 hectares under vine will be able to add 1% per year to its vineyard area.
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At the recent International Sparkling Wine Symposium held at Denbies I was facilitating a session on the way forward for English fizz and made a throwaway comment that for all its success producers should be wary of seeing Prosecco as a role model. I noted that, while it has certainly captured the imagination of a large swathe of the wine market, I doubted that many consumers could name individual brands or are aware of the difference between DOC and DOCG Prosecco. This implies that they will tend to be drawn to the cheapest Prosecco that they find acceptable. It would be fair to say that my comment was not universally popular with Prosecco producers in the room.
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Wine consultant, Mike Paul, looks back on his good and bad memories in 2013, whilst seeing in the new year by looking ahead to his hopes and fears for 2014.
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The BBC Watchdog reporton the questionable value of half price deals in the supermarkets sparked a great deal of interest. Such deals have always stirred emotions, but the ensuing discussion also highlighted a concern I have when I hear commentators making definitive statements about the price a particular wine is worth.
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The next 12 months will be a critical period for New Zealand's wine producers.
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I have always been a firm supporter of generic marketing. I've chaired importer committees and worked on developing regional strategies. I know how difficult it is to secure an appropriate level of agreement, across the producer and distributor base, to plans with real cut through, and I know how powerful a well coordinated generic effort can be. I also appreciate that coming up with innovative plans is particularly difficult currently when budgets are severely constrained. Given all this and given that generic marketers have no direct control over the producers and wines they represent, I tend to believe that they have one of the most difficult roles in our industry. All this makes me loth to criticise any generic activity.
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In a recent Harpers (July18) there is an interview with Adam Boita of Pernod Ricard on the recent launch of the limited edition Absolut Unique. He notes that this is probably " the first time a...
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I've just read "Antifragile", Nassim Taleb's thought provoking sequel to "Black Swans". At one point...
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Steve Barton, joint UK director of Brand Phoenix, recently predicted that the UK wine market will fall by a further 9 million cases over the next three years...
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