Aisle 9...Wine

A number of the top personalities in the wine businesswere in London this week to take part in Wine Vision, a business-focusedconference looking at the challenges facing wine producers around the world.There was plenty to discuss and while navel gazing is a big part of wineconferences, especially London-based events, I must say I enjoyed following thecomments and thoughts of the many speakers online via Twitter.

One of the big guns to speak at the retail level was DanJago head of Tesco Wine. Jago was thought to be the sixth most powerful man inwine in 2009 and I'm sure the British supermarket wine buyer is no lessesteemed today.

Tesco has its detractors but the British retailer isselling wine to 25 per cent of the U.K. public and, with sales of more than 325million bottles a year, they have clout. Jago said in his presentation,"If you want to be world class in your field, then you have to beconstantly looking to try different things." He cautioned that what youare doing must be based on what your customers are telling you.

Tesco gets its market intelligence on consumer knowledgefrom its Clubcard loyalty scheme that now covers 50 million consumers aroundthe world. Once you get to those numbers the results have to be consideredmeaningful. Although not surprisingly, they are likely to point to less winemarketing and more people marketing. I know, who would have thought to relateto customers?

Jago revealed that three biggest search terms for winewere: red, white, or wine. When it came to red wine, British consumers weresearching for Rioja, Merlot and Pinot Noir. White wine came down to SauvignonBlanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio. Pretty simple stuff to say the least.

Note to self, never underestimate how little consumerscare about terroir and place, no matter how important it may be to producersand about five per cent of buyers.

Here in B.C. we are contemplating selling wine insupermarkets. Shouldn't we be thinking about selling wine with food, be it adelicatessen setting, a cheese shop, restaurants or at a supermarket? Althoughglobal wine sales are in flux, according to Jago, wine is being purchased morefrequently, across a wider range of sales channels, than ever before.

Fascinating facts for Vancouver retailers to considerare: Tesco research shows 46 per cent of consumers will buy wine if it ischilled. When Tesco's customers are shopping for foods and dry goods, 56 percent of them buy wine.

One of my favourite conference tweets was: average dwelltime of an average shopper in wine aisle is one minute 20 seconds. Highest inthe store compared to just 0.8 seconds for chilled juice or 0.36 seconds forcrisps.

But what do we conclude about that 80-second stop in thewine aisle? Jago says that extensive consumer research shows there are two typesof wine shopper: one want to be engaged and the other wants to be told what tobuy. Tesco has classified its wine buyers as Tell Me or Engage Me shoppers andthey lay out their stores to look after both sectors.

Here in B.C., incredibly the largest wine retailer in theprovince has yet to sell a single bottle of wine online and it seems as ifthere is little interest in doing so. Add to that a liquor review being run bythe same people who sell liquor, and it's difficult to imagine much changing inour wine landscape other than longer lineups at the border and more and more"illegal" bottles being bought in Alberta.

Gehringer Brothers Pinot Blanc Private Reserve 2012,Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

Price      $15

UPC       623871010123

Score    87/100

Remarks             Full, round, juicy, creamy palate with earthy, pear skin, green apple, greennectarine and nettle flavours. Good juicy style with some finesse that is readyto pour throughout the holidays. Serve with white meats and fish.

Bollini Pinot Grigio Trentino 2012, Volano, Trento,Trentino- Alto-Adige, Italy

Price      $18

UPC       00726452000039

Score    88/100

Remarks             This Neil and Maria Empson brand has always offered solid value and now underscrewcap it is even more reliable. Look for an attractive nose of pear andhoney with just a hint of quince. The palate is a mix of ripe pear, red appleand mineral/butter flavours. A great food wine for pastas or chicken dishes orlight appetizers. Good value.

Moillard Hugues le Juste Viognier 2012, Vin de Paysd'Oc, Languedoc, South of France, France

Price      $15

UPC       003180421087181

Score    87/100

Remarks             Typical Moillard. Light lean, floral fresh with litchi, pear and citrus notes.The attack is dry and fresh with a juicy, citrus, green apple flavour. Love thevalue especially when compared to most New World examples.

Goats do Roam (Red) 2012, South Africa

Price      $15

UPC       6002291000435

Score    87/100

Remarks             Goats do Roam the clever play on southern French region open with a smoky,meaty, leather nose with bits of red fruits, compost and crushed coffee bean.The attack is lighter than you might expect almost elegant. The blend is a 63percent shiraz mix with cinsault, mourvèdre, grenache, durif and carignan allgrown over decomposed granite soils. Best with grilled meats off the barbecue.

Frescobaldi Castiglioni Chianti 2011, Tuscany, Italy

Price      $17

UPC       8007425003649

Score    87/100

Remarks             Since the mid-2000s Castiglione has become a sound, well-made, modern Chiantithat relies on florals and red fruit. The mid-palate is soft and juicy and thefloral, black cherry fruit needs only a simple plate of Bolognese-style pastato shine.

The Ned Pinot Noir 2012, Marlborough, South Island,New Zealand

Price      $21

UPC       853076003075

Score    88/100

Remarks             Marlborough's deep clay loams are home to the Ned Pinot vines. The wine is madein small open top fermentors and aged in 500L French oak puncheons for 8 to 10months. The nose is bright and aromatic with raspberry, spice and dried herbspredominating. The palate is similar with soft, juicy, fruit cherry berryflavours with a dusting of celery salt. Ready to drink with turkey or a simplyprepared roast chicken.