Star Pubs & Bars is launching its own label wine and introducing David Attenborough-endorsed ethical wines as part of a suite of improvements designed to improve the quality and value of wine on offer and the support it provides its licensees.
The first available wines under Star Pubs & Bars’ trademarked L'Evento own label brand are top quality yet competitively priced sparkling and still wines. The range includes a Prosecco DOC, a Rosé Spumante, a Pinot Grigio, Pinot Grigio Blush, and a Montepulciano D’Abruzzo.
The still wine range is being sourced from quality producer Botter, based near Venice, and will be available in 75cl and 187mls. The sparkling wines are being sourced from Massotina, who also supplies premium on and off trade customers, and will be available in 75cl and 20cls.
Star Pubs & Bars is further expanding its premium wine offer with the addition of 50 new quality wines from leading and highly respected wine suppliers Enotria and Halewood.
The exciting ethical wines being added to the Star Pubs & Bars line up are a Sea Change Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc, endorsed by David Attenborough.
These wines are packaged in lightweight bottles, designed to minimise transport impact and raw material usage. 20p from each bottle sale will go towards two charities leading the charge against plastic: Plastic Oceans UK and Sea-Changers.
As part of the upgrade of the wine support Star Pubs & Bars is providing licensees, all BDMs have had On-Trade specific wine training, and now have access to insight and data led wine menu building software. The tool will help them create wine lists with licensees tailored to each pub, based on location, style of pub and customer profiles including their wine buying habits.
Roberta Neave, Star Pubs & Bars Wine Category Buyer, said, 'We’re thrilled to be working with our chosen Italian wine partners, and by going directly we have been able to improve the quality of our offer, whilst becoming competitive on price point.
'Italy is the obvious place to kick off our direct buying strategy, given the UK consumer’s strong loyalty to Pinot Grigio, and more recently, Prosecco.
“We’re also delighted to be introducing Sea Change ethical wines, which are good news for licensees’ sustainability credentials, as well as for the planet.
'Customers are becoming increasingly conscious of the impact of the products they consume, so it is important that pubs are seen to be taking these concerns on board and have a sustainable option on their menus.”
Licensee Steve Orme of The Red Lion, Shepperton and The Golden Grove, Chertsey said: “It’s great news that Star is improving its premium wines, as previously their range was lacking in this area.
'More consumers are choosing premium drinks so it’s important to have a good quality wine selection. We even have a vegan wine on our menu.
'It’s also great to have an ethical wine option as sustainability is becoming an increasing priority for hospitality businesses.”