Wine is on the up.
Retailer Majestic Wine said earlier this month it was prepping for its “biggest Christmas ever”; as trade sales for the alcoholic beverage appear to be recovering well, outperforming last year’s figures; and producers up and down the country are optimistic following optimal grape growing weather this summer.
It’s a multi-faceted industry spanning from the cheap £5 bottles found at the local off-license to the high-end fine wines drunk by the elite at dinner parties, and often it can be difficult to pinpoint industry-wide trends.
Source: Real Simple
For investors, there aren’t too many ways to cash in on the nation’s love for fermented grapes, apart from maybe buying a bottle of a fine wine like Bartolo Mascarello, Barolo or sitting down with investment advisors like WineCap, which offers advice and tools on how to best approach the alternative investment.
Pubs, restaurants and bars
Like-for-like sales of wine at hospitality venues jumped over 6% compared to 2022 in the final week of August, outperforming all other categories, which CGA claims “has been the case for most of 2023”.
Comparing the performance of wine against pre-pandemic levels is slightly trickier, Mark Newton, client director at CGA, told Proactive, citing changes in consumer behaviour and higher living costs.
Newton said: “If we compare the wine category to pre-covid it's not where it was by any means. I think the inference has been that spirits and cocktails in particular have provided much more competition for wine in recent times than in the past.”
Changing trends such as the drop in restaurant trade as consumers look to save money are often overlooked even though they also impact the wine industry. After all, wine is commonly associated with a meal out, he added.
Spirits and cocktails are also creeping up on wine, consumers today focus on getting “value for money” and many venues focus on “the theatre of the serve,” he said.
“When you see a cocktail being made, you know, it's like what we used to say about cask beer, it’s one of those experiences that’s difficult to replicate at home and is useful when trying to attract customers onto the premises,” Newton added.
Still, wine isn’t being completely left out by this trend, what with the popularity of wine-based concoctions such as the Aperol Spritz or Sangria.
All of these factors feed into a rise in the “more approachable and available” sparkling wine category, Newton noted, adding that sparkling wine sales surged in the early days post-Covid because of the vast numbers of celebrations put on hold during lockdown.
Hugely popular bottomless brunches have helped prosecco sales jump Source: SqaureMeal
Newton added: “All being said, I think wine has stabilised and certainly there are areas of growth, as well as some in decline, but overall I think the wine ship has steadied. I think there's reasonable opportunity and optimism for the future for sure.”
UK Wine
British wine doesn't usually spring to mind what with France is only a Eurostar ride away. Still, wine producers such as Ned Awty, chief executive officer of trade organisation WineGB, are feeling confident about the prospects for Britian’s offering.
“Vineyard sizes in the UK have doubled since 2017 and are projected to do the same by 2032. So production is rapidly increasing,” Awty told Proactive.
Last month, Hambledon Vineyard, Britain’s oldest wine producer, was revealed to be a purchase target of one of the UK’s most established wine sellers Berry Bros & Rudd.
When explaining the decision, Berry Bros said it was looking for acquisitions that could provide a hedge against the possible impacts of global warming – essentially meaning the hotter the world gets, the harder it is for countries like Spain and France to grow the best wine, meaning Britain could offer a cooler climate to grow in.
Traditionally, good quality wine could only be grown in the south of England because of the cold weather in the north but because of the changes in climate, the north is now able to compete in producing good quality wine.
“Not only is the demand increasing but the areas in which we can grow the vines necessary for making good quality wine is heading north as well,” Awty added.
Growth in the popularity of wine tourism, where customers tour vineyards, as well as perfect summer conditions for the growing of grapes has left growers extremely optimistic.
VisitBritian now contains a section for Wine Tourism Source: Decanter
Listed producer, Chapel Down said it was expecting a record-breaking yield and volume from its harvest this year and as a result, is expecting double-digit net sales growth over the full year.
Favourable weather saw no vines damaged from frosting and huge rainfall in July, which in turn is expected to increase stocks of traditional sparkling wines for 2026.
Awty concluded: “We’re now starting to see inbound investment, which is a sure sign that as far as quality wines and climate change is concerned, England and Wales is now being seen as an increasingly attractive proposition.”