Brits are acquiring a new degree of sophistication when it comes to buying wine, latest retail sales information can reveal.
In the latest report by retail analysts Nielsen, growth for wine priced £10 and over in the 12 months to December 2017 is up by 23%.
At the same time, Tesco has seen demand for its top tier finest* wines grow by nearly 20 per cent in the last year, following significant work to develop quality new wines and make its labelling more helpful.
Among top tier customer favourites on sale at the supermarket are:
Tesco finest* Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2017
Campo Viejo Rioja Reserva
Tesco finest* Premier Cru Champagne
Tim Adams Clare Valley Shiraz
Tesco wine product developer, Charlotte Lemoine said, “Britain’s shoppers are becoming more confident about what they want and in the last year we have seen strong demand for what would be considered connoisseur wines.
“Spending £20 on a bottle of wine in a restaurant is not unusual and we know that when preparing for a special dinner or occasion at home, people are three times more likely to spend over £10 on a bottle.
“We continue to see the growth in premium wines and are particularly proud of our range of finest* wines which offer our customers top quality wines at exceptional prices.”
In the last six months, Tesco has launched over 30 additional lines priced from £8 - £25 per bottle, including a collection of some of the most exclusive wines from Margaux, France to Barolo, Italy.
Tesco has also helped customers by redesigning all of its own brand wine labels in the last two years, providing easier to understand descriptions and removing words like ‘toasty’, ‘nose’, and ‘luscious’.
In addition, Tesco has brought in clearer descriptions of the wine’s other recognisable fruit tastes, and whether it is dry, sweet, full or medium bodied.