June 30, 2008

"The Wine Intelligence Briefing - Environmental & Ethical Issues" is released

With unprecedented levels of interest shown in all of the presentations that we made at LIWF this year, our latest newsletter looks at the findings of our environmental and ethical research project - which underpinned the 2008 Wine Intelligence & Harpers Debate. To see a copy of the newsletter, or if you’ve missed out on any of our previous briefings, they are all available to download, just follow this link

May 20, 2008

Wine Intelligence at LIWF08

Wine Intelligence hosted a number of high profile events at this years London International Wine Fair (LIWF). The topics covered by our LIWF08 industry briefings and seminars ranged from environmental and ethical issues for wine, to how much country of origin matters to UK and US wine consumers, and what motivates different consumer groups to spend more on a bottle of wine. For further information about Wine Intelligence reports, briefings and presentations, please click here

May 20, 2008

"The Wine Intelligence Briefing - USA" is previewed at London International Wine Fair 08

The latest in our new series of newsletters, "The Wine Intelligence Briefing", was previewed at the LIWF08. This newsletter focuses on the USA wine market and US wine consumers, providing new insights and highlighting new Wine Intelligence research. To download a copy of the newsletter, click here.

April 22, 2008

New appointments and moves at Wine Intelligence

Wine Intelligence is pleased to announce a new appointment and a change of roles for one of the directors.

Angela Mount, who has been with the company for a year as Associate Director – Off Trade, has decided to become a freelance consultant to the Wine Industry. The change will allow Angela to meet her growing marketing, sourcing and speaking commitments, whilst still being available to Wine Intelligence as a freelance consultant.

Commenting on the change, Lulie Halstead, Chief Executive of Wine Intelligence, said: “Given her background and talents it’s no surprise that Angela is in great demand within the wine industry. When Angela and I discussed this together it was clear to us both that this new role gives Angela the chance to spread her wings while still giving Wine Intelligence access to her expertise and skills. We wish her well and look forward to working together on projects in the future.”

Angela Mount (angela@angelamount.com) said: “Since my departure from Somerfield, the last year has been exhilarating, enlightening and challenging and I have discovered new areas of our industry on which I am keen to focus and use my experience and skills to work with selected producers and agents to move their businesses forward. I will continue to work closely with Wine Intelligence on a freelance basis to combine our mutual areas of expertise.”

Wine Intelligence is also pleased to announce the appointment of Nicola Engelbach as Project Manager. Nicola is rejoining the company after a 15 month spell at Moet Hennessy, and will work across a number of areas of the business, including qualitative research, strategy and the Vinibrand® wine brand development process

Lulie Halstead added: “I’m so very delighted that Nicola has decided to rejoin our team. She brings great project management and analysis skills to Wine Intelligence, and news of her return has prompted a lot of positive feedback from clients who have worked with her before.”

April 10, 2008

Wine Intelligence announce event programme for London International Wine Fair 2008

March 2008

Wine Intelligence presents "The Wine Intelligence Briefing"

The first of a our new series of newsletters - which focus on specific topics pertinent to the global industry today - examined the changing consumer landscape for Champagne and Sparkling Wines in the UK, USA and Germany.

To see a copy of the newsletter, click here

December 12, 2007

Wine Intelligence appoints Graham Holter as Associate Director, Publishing

Wine Intelligence Ltd is delighted to announce the appointment of Graham Holter as Associate Director, Publishing, with effect from January 2008.
Graham’s primary brief will be to use his editorial skills to develop and expand the company’s newsletters, web content and industry reports.

Currently group editor of Off Licence News, Wine & Spirit and Drinks International, Graham has 13 years' experience as a leading communicator in the UK drinks industry and is now embarking on a freelance career.

Graham will be working with Wine Intelligence every month on a part-time basis, combining the role with his new communications consultancy (www.grahamholter.co.uk) and ongoing journalism with the William Reed group as consultant editor.

He said: "Wine Intelligence processes a frightening amount of information. My role is to take the insight and to transform the numbers into clear, crisp analysis for the benefit of clients and the wider industry. What appeals to me most about the role is that Wine Intelligence now has a big international reach and also historical data to compare with new research. That gives massive scope for all kinds of articles and special reports, which I'll be getting to grips with from January.

"In our industry there has never been so much emphasis on understanding consumer behaviour, and I want our reports to be challenging and entertaining as well as insightful and informative."

Graham, 38, will operate both from the offices of Wine Intelligence in London and his home in Sussex and can be contacted at grahamholter@gmail.com or graham@wineintelligence.com

Commenting on the appointment, Lulie Halstead, Chief Executive of Wine Intelligence said: “Graham brings a whole new dimension to the Wine Intelligence offer. We have a lot of information that can help companies make better decisions, and Graham will help us communicate it more effectively.”

November 23, 2007

Wine Intelligence appoints David Scotland as Non-executive Chairman

Wine Intelligence Ltd is pleased to announce the appointment of David Scotland as Non-executive Chairman of the company, with immediate effect.
David will provide leadership and advice to the Wine Intelligence senior team on a range of business issues, and help shape the future strategy of the company as it grows internationally.

Over the course of a long and illustrious career, David has worked at the highest levels in the global alcoholic beverages industry. Following a successful sales and marketing career at John Harvey & Sons, and five years at IDV heading up Cinzano’s international business and, briefly, Percy Fox & Co, David joined Allied Domecq in 1992 as President of Europe.

From 1995 to 2005 David sat as a main board director of Allied Domecq plc, and spent his last three years with the company as President of its global wine division, which included brands such as Montana, Campo Viejo, Clos du Bois, Mumm and Perrier Jouet.

Following his retirement from Allied in 2005, David now sits as a non-executive director of Inchcape plc and Brixton plc, and is Chairman of Thomas Preston & Associates.

David Scotland said: “I am an enthusiastic admirer of Wine Intelligence and its work, and I hope that I can help the company further its aims to serve the global wine industry and continue on its impressive growth path. I am very much looking forward to getting down to work with the team, and to returning to my industry roots.”

Commenting on the appointment, Lulie Halstead, Chief Executive of Wine Intelligence said: “I am delighted that David has accepted our invitation to become chairman. David brings with him invaluable experience and knowledge of the global wine industry, and I know the business will benefit hugely from his guidance.”

September 12, 2007

"Bordeaux is the world’s best known wine region; Rioja is best at translating awareness into purchase," says global wine consumer survey Vinitrac

Bordeaux, Champagne and Chianti are the world’s best known wine regions, according to the Vinitrac® Global survey of wine consumers in 11 key wine consumption markets.

In one of the largest international surveys ever undertaken about wine drinking, responses from over 11,000 wine consumers across 11 key wine markets were collected during March 2007 by Wine Intelligence, a leading consultancy, which owns the Vinitrac® survey platform. The survey is powered by GMI, a specialist survey software and sampling company.

The survey measured awareness and purchase of 28 regions and appellations across the 11 surveyed markets.

Among the main findings, Bordeaux ranks first in terms of penetration in 8 out of the 11 countries being surveyed, and Côtes du Rhône wines do particularly well in terms of penetration in North European countries, e.g. Denmark, Finland, Ireland and the UK.

Looking at other French regions, Chablis or Provence have relatively high awareness in comparison to their sales volumes. For instance, 76% of British and Irish consumers are aware of Chablis (versus about 90% for Bordeaux), despite the fact that Chablis exports are substantially lower than those of Bordeaux. While being a relatively very small exporter in terms of volumes, the “word” Provence generates between 37% (USA) and 66% (Denmark) of prompted awareness in wine consumption markets.

On the Spanish front, Rioja ranks first in terms of conversion of awares into users in the following countries: Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Switzerland and the UK. The region comes second on the same measure in Germany.

In addition to these indicators, Vinitrac Global documents important information about wine drinkers’ usage and attitudes towards wine allowing Wine Intelligence to establish the profile of drinkers and non drinkers for each region/appellation and the opportunities and threats facing these regions.

This survey will be repeated in October 2007 in 12 countries, including France, Belgium and Sweden.

To find out more about Vinitrac Global or the region KPI data, please contact Jean-Philippe Perrouty at

jean-philippe@wineintelligence.com or phone +44(0)207 089 3894. 

August 10, 2007

"Three quarters of British wine consumers don’t know how many units

of alcohol there are in a bottle of wine" Vinitrac reveals

Only 26% of Britain’s wine consumers can correctly identify the number of alcohol units in a typical bottle of wine, with over half of consumers under-estimating the alcohol content, according to the latest Vinitrac UK survey conducted by Wine Intelligence.

However the monthly survey of 1,000 regular wine drinkers in the UK found that consumers were much more likely to correctly estimate alcohol levels in other drink measures, such as a small (125ml) glass of wine or a pint of beer.

With a typical stated alcohol by volume (ABV) of 12%, a 750ml bottle of wine contains around 9 units of alcohol. Only 6% of respondents gave this exact answer, but a further 20% answered either 8 units or 10 units, and were therefore

counted as “correct” in the survey.

Of greater concern for alcohol campaigners will be the 50% of respondents who believe that a bottle of wine contains 6 units of alcohol or less.

The recommended daily alcohol intake for adult males is 3-4 units, and 2-3 units for adult females. This approximates to a third of a bottle of wine, or one 250ml “large glass” serving of wine in most pubs.

The erroneous estimates for bottles of wine contrasted with relatively accurate estimates for other drinks measures. Six in ten consumers correctly estimated that a pint of 4% beer or lager contained approximately 2 units of alcohol, and a similar proportion correctly identified that bottles of RTDs such as Smirnoff Ice contain between 1.5 and 2 units of alcohol. Over 70% correctly stated that a small glass (125ml) of wine contains 1.5 units.

Note:

Alcohol units
A “unit” of alcohol is the equivalent of 8 grams of pure alcohol. The number of units in a drink depends on the size of the serving, and the alcohol by volume (ABV) content, expressed as a percentage. For more information on alcohol unit contents and recommended daily allowances, see www.drinkaware.co.uk

July 16th, 2007
"Jacob’s Creek and Gallo lead consumer awareness rankings in key wine import markets" Vinitrac reveals

Jacob’s Creek and Gallo are the world’s best known wine brands, according to the Vinitrac Global Survey of wine consumers in key import markets. French brand JP Chenet is also very well known, and was highly ranked in several markets.

In one of the largest international surveys ever undertaken about wine drinking, responses from over 11,000 wine consumers across 11 key wine markets were collected during March 2007 by Wine Intelligence, a leading consultancy, which owns the Vinitrac survey platform. The survey is powered by GMI, a specialist survey software and sampling company.

The wine brand Key Performance Indicator (KPI) data collected by Wine Intelligence reveals that Australian brand Jacob’s Creek is market leader for consumer awareness in the English-speaking countries of Australia, Ireland and the UK.

Meanwhile, American giant Gallo topped the awareness ranking in its domestic US market and neighbouring Canada, along with the tough German market. JP Chenet reigned in Denmark and the Netherlands and was number two in Germany.

In addition to these three brands, Carlo Rossi and Mouton Cadet emerged as winners in the wine brand awareness rank drawn from a list of 48 major international brands.

The Vinitrac KPI rank assesses all aspects of brand equity starting from awareness and usage through to brand affinity and recommendation.

In addition to the awareness rank, other findings reveal that Australian wine brands tend to lead the way in the conversion of brand awareness to purchase, with [yellow tail] a particularly strong performer in this context.  Wolf Blass was also well liked by many consumers and was the most recommended brand in four Vinitrac markets, including Ireland and Australia.   

To find out more or to order your copy of the full report, please contact Richard Halstead at Richard@wineintelligence.com or phone +44(0)207 089 3890.

June 25th, 2007
"English-speaking wine consumers drink wine more frequently than consumers in other major wine export markets," Vinitrac reveals

Wine drinkers in Australia, UK & USA drink wine more frequently than consumers in major wine export markets, according to the latest data from the Vinitrac Global Monitor, published this week by Wine Intelligence.

In one of the largest international surveys ever undertaken about wine drinking, responses from over 11,000 wine consumers across 11 key export markets were collected during March and April 2007.

Among the findings were that 55% of wine drinkers in Australia, UK and USA drink wine two or more times per week. By contrast, consumption is much less frequent in countries such as Finland and Japan: just 24% of Finnish wine drinkers and 31% of Japanese wine drinkers consume wine twice a week or more.

Australia and the UK are also amongst the countries where strong on-premise wine drinking culture exists; over 90% of regular wine drinkers in these markets consume wine in a pub, bar or restaurant, while 65% of Swiss wine consumers do not consume wine in the on-premise setting.

To find out more or to order your copy of the full report, please contact Richard Halstead at Richard@wineintelligence.com or phone +44(0)207 089 3890.

June 17th-21st, 2007
Wine Intelligence at Vinexpo -Bordeaux Convention Centre

Wine Intelligence was present at the biennial Vinexpo 2007 exhibition in Bordeaux, France. The industry seminar, "Divided by the Atlantic: Where is the future opportunity for wine exporters - UK or USA?" was amongst one of the highlights of the exhibition as Wine Intelligence hosted a debate over the future opportunities and threats in these two key export markets. Dan Jago Category Director of Beers Wines and Spirits for Tesco, provided evidence and insight to the debate, "I have asked my team to deliver a challenging goal this year. How can we get customers to pay an extra twenty five pence for each bottle? Not a lot to ask you may think, but without quality, education and reasons to buy, it is merely inflation",

"Divided by the Atlantic: Where is the future opportunity for wine exporters - UK or USA?" along with full details of participating industry speakers, will be available for download on our website shortly.

May 29th, 2007
Mike Paul to move to non-executive role 

Wine Intelligence is pleased to announce that Mike Paul has been appointed Chairman of the Wine Intelligence Advisory Board, which advises the company on strategic direction and on business issues. The move arises from Mike’s decision to take on the role of Managing Director at Orbital Wines. Mike Paul said: “I’ve really enjoyed my time at Wine Intelligence, and the opportunity to work with such an exciting team of people. I am delighted to stay involved, as I believe it is a company with great potential.”

May 22nd - 24th, 2007
Wine Intelligence at LIWSF

Wine Intelligence hosted a number of high profile events at the London International Wine and Spirit Fair (LIWSF) 2007. The topics covered by our LIWSF 2007 seminars ranged from organic wine, Fairtrade & sustainability through to the current status of the UK on-trade sector and opportunities within the 50+ wine consumer segment. Summaries of the Wine Intelligence LIWSF 2007 seminar presentations can be download here. For further information, please contact Stephen Farrington

March 19th, 2007
Wine Intelligence appoints Gérard Basset as Associate Director – On Trade

Wine Intelligence is delighted to announce the appointment of Gérard Basset as Associate Director – On Trade, with immediate effect.

Gérard will advise Wine Intelligence’s clients about On trade strategy, as well as contributing to the company’s published research on the subject. He will also represent Wine Intelligence at seminars and events.

In a remarkable career punctuated by numerous awards and business success, Gérard has become one of the world’s leading experts on wine and its service in an on-premise setting.

Gérard’s business reputation is closely linked with the notable success of the Hotel du Vin, which he co-founded in1994, after six years as chief sommelier at Chewton Glen Hotel. In addition his remarkable professional achievements, Gerard holds the titles of both Master of Wine and Master Sommelier, and in 2007 added to his qualifications with the successful completion of the Wine MBA from Bordeaux Business School, where he graduated top of his class.

Gérard Basset said: “I am delighted to join Wine Intelligence. It is a great honour for me to work with such a talented and innovative team."

March 27th, 2007
Wine Intelligence appoints Angela Mount as Associate Director – Off Trade

Wine Intelligence is delighted to announce the appointment of Angela Mount as Associate Director – Off Trade, starting from April 10, 2007.

Angela will bring her considerable market knowledge to Wine Intelligence, advising leading global wine businesses about product development, trading strategy, as well as contributing to the company’s published research.

Angela is widely known and respected within the global wine community. In her 15 years as a wine buyer for Somerfield, the UK supermarket chain, latterly as Head of Wine Buying, Angela transformed the range and reputation of the wine offer.

Wine Intelligence will be expanding its Vinibrand service over the next few months and, in addition to the wine brand development service that is currently offered, Angela will be able to assist wine companies in defining the optimum wine for the identified target audience, product positioning and price point.

Angela Mount said: “Wine Intelligence has developed a superb and highly respected reputation since its launch five years ago, and I am delighted to be joining the senior team"

Wine Intelligence expands coverage of Vinitrac

Vinitrac, the international online research platform recently launched by Wine Intelligence, now allows all wine businesses involved in the development, distribution, promotion and sale of wine to listen to consumers’ views and attitudes on

a regular basis in four more markets: Australia, Finland, Ireland and Switzerland.

Vinitrac monitors every aspect of wine drinkers wine lives – from what they drink, where they purchase (both retail and on-premise) to their attitude to wine brands & countries of origin. It even monitors what varietals they favour and what they think of different closures.

Following the addition of the aforementioned markets, standard surveys completed in March and September each year are now available in 11 major markets: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the USA.

In addition, Vinitrac operates in the following markets as a bespoke or omnibus survey on a demand basis: China, Belgium, France, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Spain and Sweden. Other markets are available on request.

For more information about Vinitrac, please call Richard Halstead, Wine Intelligence's Operations Director on +44 (0) 20 089 3890 or email him at Richard@wineintelligence.com

Alternative wine closures “now mainstream products” in UK

Consumer acceptance for screw cap closures in the UK has risen to a level where it is now considered part of the mainstream in terms of wine packaging, a new report published by Wine Intelligence has revealed.

A survey of 1,000 regular wine drinkers in late 2006 in the UK in has found that three quarters of regular wine drinkers in the UK now find screw cap closures acceptable, up from 64% acceptance in 2004 and just 41% in 2003.

However there remains a significant minority of natural cork aficionados among UK consumers who display a more emotive relationship with wine in general, and do not see screw-cap as part of the “romance” of wine.

The Wine Intelligence report also includes store check data collected in January 2007 and April 2005 which shows a significant increase in the number of products with screw cap closure offered for sale by major retailers in the UK.

"Over the past four years we have seen an unprecedented shift in UK consumer behaviour and attitudes to wine bottle closures”, Wine Intelligence Operating Director Richard Halstead said. “The evidence presented in this report shows the extent to which screw-caps now play a part in sealing wine sold in the UK, and the levels of resistance still apparent in the market to this new style of closure."

To order your copy of Closures: The UK Consumer View 2007, please email steve@wineintelligence.com

Title: Closures: The UK Consumer View 2007
Format: PowerPoint (download)
Single copy licence: £350 + VAT if applicable
Multiple copy licence: £925 + VAT if applicable
Publication date: February 2007

Wine Intelligence launches Vinitrac, the global wine consumer insights platform

Wine producers, brand owners and generic bodies serving international markets will have the opportunity to develop an unprecedented understanding of their consumers thanks to Vinitrac, a new international online research platform launched today by Wine Intelligence.

Vinitrac is a comprehensive consumer survey of wine drinking habits covering seven major wine consumption markets: Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States.

Questions asked in the survey include wine consumption frequency and spend; country of origin consumption and perceptions; varietal usage; attitudes to closures; and involvement in the wine. The sample will be at least 1,000 wine drinkers in each of the survey countries (USA: 2,000), and weighted to be representative of all drinkers in that country.

Vinitrac will also poll consumers on brand awareness, usage and perception, covering both still and sparkling wines, which wine businesses can use to track the health of their products and measure the impact of marketing activity.

Clients can also ask their own questions of an audience that will be representative of the views of over 100 million regular wine drinkers.

The Vinitrac global survey will run twice a year – in March and September - alongside Wine Intelligence’s more regular omnibus services in the UK, US and Germany. These will be renamed under the Vinitrac banner as Vinitrac UK, Vinitrac US and Vinitrac Germany.

Businesses will be able to subscribe to data reports covering all countries, or selected markets. Reports covering brands and specific topics such as closures, sparkling wines, and fortified wines will also be available.

For more information about Vinitrac, please call Richard Halstead, Wine Intelligence's Operations Director on +44 (0) 20 089 3890 or email him at Richard@wineintelligence.com

January 25th, 2007
Jean-Philippe Perrouty speaks at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium

Wine Intelligence Research Manager Dr. Jean-Philippe Perrouty spoke at a seminar about wine bottle closures at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento on Thursday, January 25 2007. Dr Perrouty talked about consumer attitudes to closures in the UK, and how the acceptance of screw-cap closures has changed over time.