This article is part of our digital feature on wine
France produces the best quality wine, an exclusive poll for The Grocer reveals, but the fast-growing English wine sector is quickly gaining a reputation for itself as a producer of top quality wines.
Italy and Australia came second and third, respectively, in the poll carried out by Harris Interactive. England, meanwhile, came in fourth with more than one in ten rating it as the best quality vino beating the likes of Spain, New Zealand and even South Africa.
”England has delivered world class wines too in recent years and we are as an industry excited to see the quality improve year on year,” says Mark Harvey, MD of English wine producer Chapel Down. ”I expect England to climb the ratings as English wines continues to grow and more consumers are surprised and delighted by the quality of our home-grown produce.”
English wine was particularly favoured by 25 to 44 year-olds, which Harvey believes is because they are more receptive to discovering products of great quality. ”They appreciate products over brands and love to learn more about the provenance of their purchase,” he says. ”For these reasons English wines in general are increasingly in vogue.”
However, compared to the likes of France and other wine-growing regions, it has a tiny share of the market. “English wine’s market share is less than 1% of the total UK wine market,” said Julia Trustram Eve, marketing director of English Wine Producers. “But we’re seeing increased sales and demand for it. This is partly driven by outstanding results in competitions, such as the International Wine Challenge .”
Only 6% of those polled say they regularly buy it while 32% pick it up occasionally. Many are receptive to it though and retailers such as M&S and Waitrose are championing it in their ranges. English fizz is our fastest growing sparkling wine category,” said Waitrose wine buyer Rebecca Hull, noting sales are up 49% over the past year.
M&S, meanwhile, saw sales rise by 74% as a result of St George’s Day and English Wine Week, among other events. ”M&S recently expanded its range of English and Welsh wines and now offers 37 wines from vineyards as far apart as Cornwall and Hereford, Wales and Norfolk,” says a spokeswoman.
| Which one of the following countries do you think produces the best quality wine? | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Male | Female | 16-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55+ | |
| France | 36% | 39% | 34% | 47% | 35% | 34% | 38% | 34% |
| Italy | 15% | 13% | 18% | 24% | 19% | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| Australia | 13% | 12% | 14% | 2% | 5% | 12% | 16% | 20% |
| UK | 11% | 13% | 8% | 9% | 19% | 15% | 7% | 6% |
| Spain | 7% | 7% | 7% | 9% | 8% | 6% | 7% | 6% |
| South Africa | 6% | 6% | 7% | 1% | 4% | 7% | 7% | 9% |
| New Zealand | 5% | 5% | 6% | 4% | 5% | 4% | 7% | 6% |
| US | 3% | 3% | 3% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 2% | 4% |
| Other parts of South America | 2% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 3% |
| Argentina | 1% | 1% | 1% | 0 | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Thinking about English wine in particular, which of the following best describes you? | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Male | Female | 16-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55+ | |
| I regularly buy English wine | 6% | 7% | 5% | 4% | 12% | 11% | 4% | 2% |
| I occasionally buy English wine | 32% | 30% | 35% | 24% | 36% | 32% | 33% | 33% |
| I have never bought English wine but would consider it | 32% | 31% | 32% | 32% | 26% | 32% | 32% | 34% |
| I have bought English wine but wouldn’t buy it again | 6% | 7% | 5% | 7% | 6% | 6% | 5% | 7% |
| I have never bought English wine and wouldn’t consider buying it | 24% | 24% | 23% | 33% | 20% | 18% | 26% | 24% |
| Which of these statements about English wine do you agree with? | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Male | Female | 16-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55+ | |
| English wine is becoming more popular | 29% | 28% | 29% | 13% | 19% | 26% | 30% | 39% |
| English wine is surprisingly high quality | 17% | 17% | 17% | 7% | 11% | 14% | 20% | 23% |
| English wine is expensive | 16% | 19% | 14% | 10% | 11% | 14% | 15% | 23% |
| English wine is hard to get hold of in supermarkets | 15% | 15% | 15% | 7% | 12% | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| English wine is easy to get hold of in supermarkets | 11% | 12% | 10% | 16% | 12% | 11% | 10% | 9% |
| English wine is bought by people who are knowledgeable about wine | 8% | 9% | 8% | 6% | 8% | 7% | 9% | 10% |
| English wine is cheap | 8% | 8% | 8% | 18% | 16% | 7% | 4% | 3% |
| English wine is poor quality | 7% | 9% | 5% | 12% | 12% | 8% | 5% | 3% |
| English wine is a fad/a bit of a joke | 5% | 5% | 5% | 7% | 5% | 7% | 4% | 3% |
| English wine is bought by people who don’t know anything about wine | 5% | 5% | 4% | 3% | 9% | 7% | 3% | 3% |
| I had no idea there was such a thing as English wine | 13% | 10% | 16% | 22% | 20% | 10% | 12% | 9% |
| None of these | 20% | 19% | 21% | 17% | 17% | 22% | 20% | 23% |
Next article: Meet the Buyers - sparkling wine’s growth is ”phenomenal”
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