Headlines this morning have been screaming that the government is planning to “water down wine” to put a stop to “middle class drinking”.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Earl Howe, an undersecretary in the Department of Health, wants the EU to change the technical definition of wine from containing a minimum of 8.5% ABV to 4.5% - and is going to continue to lobby the EU to bring lower-alcohol wines back to the discussion table (metaphorically speaking).
As well as prompting the usual ranting about politicians meddling in people’s lives, there has been a fair amount of derision online for the “underwhelming” offering of lower alcohol wine. One commentator to the Daily Mail’s website described 8.5% ABV wine as tasting of “an immature bears [sic] armpit”, while Sunday Telegraph wine columnist Victoria Moore dismissed “artificially created” low alcohol wines as tasting “rubbish”.
As it happened, this morning I was sitting across a table from Thomas Jung, chief winemaker to Australian Vintage, as he discussed his new baby – the 5.5% ABV Miranda Summer Light range, which was unveiled two weeks ago and rolls into Tesco and Morrisons next month.
And there wasn’t a bear in sight.
Low and de-alcoholised wines are not new – Australian Vintage has been making them for more than 20 years, primarily for the Nordic countries – and in recent years, an increasing number of brands have come to market.
However, according to Jung, it is thanks to new techniques and technology that low-alcohol wine can start to hit the taste profile sought by demanding consumers, and deliver a quality proposition.
According to a recent report from Wine Intelligence, the sub-10.5% ABV wine category is growing “in stature” around the world, and Brand Phoenix – which co-owns First Cape Light – says it has the potential to become a 5 million-case category.
This demand is being “significantly” driven by consumers – the category is now worth £42m a year -– but Jung is convinced that we’re only at the beginning of the road towards better quality lower alcohol wine.
“It’s up to us an industry to ensure we put products on shelf that appeal to consumers, that are drinkable, approachable and deliver on quality expectation,” Jung said.
It seems the government agrees.
This article was first published in Daily Bread newsletter by The Grocer
According to The Daily Telegraph, Earl Howe, an undersecretary in the Department of Health, wants the EU to change the technical definition of wine from containing a minimum of 8.5% ABV to 4.5% - and is going to continue to lobby the EU to bring lower-alcohol wines back to the discussion table (metaphorically speaking).
As well as prompting the usual ranting about politicians meddling in people’s lives, there has been a fair amount of derision online for the “underwhelming” offering of lower alcohol wine. One commentator to the Daily Mail’s website described 8.5% ABV wine as tasting of “an immature bears [sic] armpit”, while Sunday Telegraph wine columnist Victoria Moore dismissed “artificially created” low alcohol wines as tasting “rubbish”.
As it happened, this morning I was sitting across a table from Thomas Jung, chief winemaker to Australian Vintage, as he discussed his new baby – the 5.5% ABV Miranda Summer Light range, which was unveiled two weeks ago and rolls into Tesco and Morrisons next month.
And there wasn’t a bear in sight.
Low and de-alcoholised wines are not new – Australian Vintage has been making them for more than 20 years, primarily for the Nordic countries – and in recent years, an increasing number of brands have come to market.
However, according to Jung, it is thanks to new techniques and technology that low-alcohol wine can start to hit the taste profile sought by demanding consumers, and deliver a quality proposition.
According to a recent report from Wine Intelligence, the sub-10.5% ABV wine category is growing “in stature” around the world, and Brand Phoenix – which co-owns First Cape Light – says it has the potential to become a 5 million-case category.
This demand is being “significantly” driven by consumers – the category is now worth £42m a year -– but Jung is convinced that we’re only at the beginning of the road towards better quality lower alcohol wine.
“It’s up to us an industry to ensure we put products on shelf that appeal to consumers, that are drinkable, approachable and deliver on quality expectation,” Jung said.
It seems the government agrees.
This article was first published in Daily Bread newsletter by The Grocer
