Dumping Sauvignon Blanc, but at what cost?

· Blog
Mar 3rd, 2011 | By | Category: Blog

Whilst visiting the UK recently I discovered the sheer volume of bulk New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc on offer to the UK public. Labels that I’ve never heard of, screaming ‘buy me I’m New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and am at a good price’, that may be but most of the wine I tasted was below average in quality.

The consumers of these wines may have never tasted NZ Savvy before, and if this is their first impression, I would say most will not buy NZ wine again if the price were to rise. Many of these consumers are purely buying on price alone and would buy Chilean Savvy next week if it were on special.

Negative trends such as these will only damage New Zealand’s premiumisation of wine for years to come. Labels that have no geographic anchor and certainly no story is brand damaging. The reduction of well known labels in wine stores and supermarkets was alarming enough, without the bulk wine labels.

There are good/strong arguments for both sides of the coin with regards whether or not so much bulk wine in our strong markets is a good idea, but it has reduced the over supply issue NZ has had since 2008, but at what cost?

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Written by Jayson Bryant

Jayson Bryant

Jayson’s roots in wine began when his father literally dragged him round France and injected his passion into him. From the age of 8 his family took month long holidays in France travelling through all regions and sampling their wine.
UnScrewed has reinvented the concept of wine tasting in New Zealand and along the way found a new and willing audience. In addition to encouraging straightforward wine tasting, Jayson educates viewers about the effects of regional factors (soil, sun, wind) on wine flavours, and how to buy wine.

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  • http://www.hollman-alu.nl Aluminium Kozijnen

    Labels is very important whatever product is there.. Then only we can learn about that wine story and all..

  • http://twitter.com/mitchell_harris Mitchell Harris Wine

    Thanks for some timely thoughts Jayson.
    It’s hard not to feel that Marlborough (and NZ) wine is at a tipping point, where ages of hard work to build the region’s identity and quality could be flushed away with bargain-basement bulk plonk just for (understandably) some quick bucks.
    Australian wine is only just setting out on a (decades-long) journey of rebuilding after being decimated back to the bargain shelves in just a few short years of flooding the market with cheap booze.
    It behooves all of us as producers to think of the long-game, and concentrate on quality wine, and telling the story of what our fruit, people and regions have to offer.

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  • http://thewineyard.wordpress.com/ Ben Hodgkinson (TheWineyard)

    As a UK wine retailer, my gut feeling is that this will devalue the ‘Marlborough’ brand somewhat. In recent times, customers have known what they can expect from Marlborough, and it’s become their go-to buy, because they know it will be good, and they know what it will taste like. It’s been incredibly trendy and popular. Once the prices return to normal levels, after seeing them drop so much, customers will quite fairly wonder why they should be paying more (It’s not like back labels educate people on the economics of the wine trade).

    A similar effect recently has been taking place with Champagne. The annual half price offers on big names like Bollinger have left customers wondering why on earth they should be expected to pay the full prices the rest of the year. It’s consequently damaged the ‘Champagne’ brand, and left alternatives from around the world a big foot in the door as they’re consistently priced at a more affordable level, and are more than enjoyable enough.

  • Anonymous

    Hi James
    Thanks for visiting and commenting on the site, it is people like yourself that help the industry get perspective.
    I have named and shamed in the past and Villa Maria are very guilty of telling a different story to their actual reality.
    There are many superb producers of Sauvignon Blanc and in other articles I’ve written and videos produced I hope I have reflected that.
    I’m sorry that you didn’t like my article.
    Yours
    Jayson

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for visiting the site Tim, andI am sorry that you think my articles are all negative about the NZ wine industry, I have written many more positive articles, but as you must understand I need to be balanced and honest.
    I hope that you find some other articles more positive and you keep checking back.

  • RogerK

    Not just “New Zealand” – but “Marlborough”! That is where the brand equity is, and where it is being exploited.

    • http://thewineyard.wordpress.com/ Ben Hodgkinson (TheWineyard)

      Definitely Roger. On a kinda seperate note, I think New Zealand needs to do more to promote regionality, and showcase what it does well in other areas outside of Marlborough.

      • Anonymous

        I couldn’t agree more Ben, it needs to spend time and money investing in the areas of regional promotion