Alcohol: Wine: Top Products 2019

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Wine

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Is the table wine sector finally remembering what innovation is? For the first time in a while, some suppliers are realising there’s more to their slowly declining category (down 22% in volumes) than a 750ml bottle of sauvignon blanc. And it’s paying off for them.

This year, Barefoot (up 12.1% in value) poured its bestselling wine into cans, and Concha y Toro, owner of Casillero del Diablo, added ‘spritz’ brand O’jos. Meanwhile, Treasury Wine Estates’ 19 Crimes challenger brand made £13.2m as it ditched traditional category cues.

For the conservative wine market, these are radical moves. “Wine is beginning to grow up a bit when it comes to understanding consumers,” says Concha y Toro UK general manager Simon Doyle. “We’re spending lots of time and money on category insight, consumer insight and the dynamics of what consumers might want.”

Conventional wisdom about how to cater for younger shoppers is changing too, Doyle adds. “In the past, we assumed younger shoppers needed lower-priced products – some obviously still do – but actually what they need is a more engaging proposition.”

That means NPD like Yellow Tail’s 8.5% abv Pure Bright pinot grigio, which quietly rolled out in September to tap the low and no alcohol trend among millennials. Such innovation has helped put all top five wine brands in growth for the first time in several years. Yellow Tail (up £24.8m) and Casillero (up £17.7m) have barged their way into the top five, relegating Blossom Hill (down £12.6m) and Echo Falls (down £25.9m).

Simon Lawson, general manager of Yellow Tail owner Casella Family Brands, says investment in marketing and brand-building is paying dividends. “We have made the definitive choice to invest in this market, which is not necessarily the case for all producers.”

In spite of pressures such as excise duty, Brexit and falling consumer confidence, “wine is still the biggest off-trade alcohol category” he insists.

“That’s not to say we can’t do things better, but it is gently premiumising – and we are seeing exciting brands coming through.”

Top Products 2019

In association with nielsen

Top 10 Still wine
				£m	change (£)	change (%)
			Total Category:	5767.3	52.0	0.9
Volume change:	-2.2%		Total Own Label:	1336.6	-32.9	-2.4

This year’s rank	Last year’s rank	Brand	Manufacturer	£m	change (£m)	change (%)
1	1	Hardys	Accolade Wines	287.2	3.9	1.4%
2	2	Barefoot	E&J Gallo	187.7	20.2	12.1%
3	6	Yellow Tail	Casella	162.0	24.8	18.1%
4	4	McGuigan	Australian Vintage	161.9	6.3	4.0%
5	7	Casillero Del Diablo	Concha Y Toro	150.2	17.7	13.3%
6	5	Blossom Hill	Treasury Wine Estate	140.6	-12.7	-8.3
7	3	Echo Falls	Accolade Wines	138.4	-25.9	-15.8
8	10	Isla Negra	Concha Y Toro	110.1	9.9	9.9
9	9	Campo Viejo	Pernod Ricard	103.9	3.6	3.6
10	8	Gallo Family Vineyards	E&J Gallo	92.4	-12.0	-11.5

Top 10 Champagne
				£m	change (£m)	change (%)
			Total Category:	288.7	-5.0	-1.7
Volume change:	-5.30%		Total Own Label:	32.2	-3.1	-8.9

This year’s rank	Last year’s rank	Brand	Manufacturer	£m	change (£m)	change (%)
1	1	Moet & Chandon	MHUK	40.3	-1.2	-2.9%
2	2	Veuve Clicquot	MHUK	31.4	1.8	5.9%
3	3	Lanson	Lanson UK	27.4	-1.6	-5.6%
4	6	Taittinger	Taittinger	19.2	4.0	26.5%
5	4	Bollinger	Mentzendorff	18.6	-0.4	-2.2%
6	5	Laurent Perrier	Laurent Perrier	17.8	2.2	14.1
7	7	Nicolas Feuillatte	Nicolas Feuillatte	11.5	1.7	17.4
8	13	Piper Heidsieck	Rémy Cointreau	7.9	3.2	66.8
9	12	Mumm	Pernod Ricard	6.5	1.1	21.5
10	8	Louis Vertay	Louis Vertay	6.1	-2.1	-25.7

Top 10 Sparkling wine
				£m	change (£m)	change (%)
			Total Category:	845.9	-26.8	-3.1
Volume change:	-4.6%		Total Own Label:	256.9	-4.7	-1.8

This year’s rank	Last year’s rank	Brand	Manufacturer	£m	change (£m)	change (%)
1	1	Plaza Centro	Cantine Maschio	72.7	1.7	2.5%
2	2	Freixenet	Freixenet	57.3	13.0	29.3%
3	4	I Heart	Copestick Murray	40.8	8.6	26.7%
4	3	Canti	Fratelli Martini Sec	39.9	4.5	12.7%
5	5	Valdo	Valdo	21.3	-4.8	-18.5%
6	6	Martini	Bacardi	18.1	-4.0	-18.1
7	7	Cantine Maschio	Cantine Riunite & Civ	14.0	-3.1	-18.3
8	8	Scalini	Scalini	9.0	-1.0	-9.8
9	10	Mionetto	Henkell & Co	7.0	0.1	0.9
10	9	Dino	Fratelli Martini	4.9	-4.4	-47.6

The Grocer’s Top Launch

I Heart Champagne

I Heart Champagne by Freixenet Copestick

Freixenet Copestick’s I Heart is arguably the most successful sparkling wine brand of the past 10 years, and has consistently outperformed the difficult category. The brand’s champers debut, which it unveiled in partnership with champagne house Didier Chopin, looks to be no exception, having made £1.2m since launch. The secret of the I Heart brand is its uncanny ability to simplify a complicated category, giving it mainstream appeal. Watch out, Moët & Chandon!