Wine trade ups and downs

Producers such as Italy's Suavia (Mackenway) are worried about Brexit - meanwhile its whites make perfect summer drinking

External factors like weather, Brexit and tariffs are constantly affecting the price of wine, and thus its popularity within the vast wine market

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Off-trade

Ups

Marksman is only one of many sparkling wines making an impact as England expands its vineyards

England has continued to increase its number of wine producers, with 80 estates in production this year compared with 36 just five years ago. The acreage under vine has tripled since the year 2000. Managing unpredictable weather is still the biggest challenge, while Brexit is causing just a little less worry. With the prospect of tariffs on wine exports, producers are confident that they can continue to expand profitably.

Tindal Wine Merchants has recently added Italy’s Antinori wines to its portfolio. The addition of the prestigious label is quite a coup for this independent merchant which seems increasingly on the up. The company will now be distributing the Antinori top wines as well as the midpoint Pepoli, Santa Cristina and Sicily’s Tormoresca.

And good news, too, for Cassidy Wines. They are now distributors of the Loire wine house of Pascal Jolivet who are based at Sancerre and Pouilly Fume ACs. For details of the portfolio, contact Amanda.Cardiff@cassidywines.com.

Downs

The results of Brexit are still unclear, despite some bullish British commentators acting as though it had already happened and caused no trouble at all. However, it’s widely agreed amongst wine trade experts that the cost of wine could increase by around 22% after the grand exit. According to the Journal of Wine Economics, the factors will be: 20% because of sterling depreciation, 4% because of tariffs on European and some New World wines and 2% because of slower UK economic growth.

The Italians are worried about Brexit too. They currently export around €815m worth of wine and the UK is an important market. A recent study, however, has indicated that Brexit could cost the Italian industry at least €52m annually, owing to depressed sterling values and the impact of tariffs. Commenting on the research, Massimiliano Giansanti, president of Italy’s Confederation of Agriculture, said that trade wars were putting the global economic recovery at “grave risk”.

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