The Future of Wine

The Future of Wine - what can we expect? A summary of some key take-aways from several industry reports on the biggest wine trends for this year (IWSR  and OIV). 

Unsurprisingly, most markets report a continuing decline in wine volumes, particularly in the traditional wine drinking markets of Europe and the US. Competition from other alcohol categories and a growing interest in health, fitness and well-being have played a role in this decline, however wine producers are also up against the simplistic, but wide-reaching narrative from 'prohibitionist' groups. (Felicity Carter recently wrote an important piece on the impact of this movement on the wine sector). 

On the upside, the reports show that the average spend on a bottle of wine has remained stable (although it is under threat as younger consumers (most consumers?!) feel the pinch of inflation). Overall however, these reports find some evidence that premium wine is suffering less than value wine, so the "less but better" philosophy may have gained some traction, although any real growth appears to be coming from newer markets outside of Europe and the US, including Asia and South America. Views are mixed on whether wine is seeing an increase in average spend - a recent article in the Wine Economist reports that the decline in wine likely owes less to demographic factors and more to economic pressures - so taking a global view may skew the reality in the traditional wine markets. 

The impact of climate change continues to be a worry for the industry, as weather patterns change and become less predictable. In late April a hard frost struck northern Europe, (including vineyard regions in northern France, Austria and Germany and as far south as Spain), similar to that of 2021, as well as devastating localised hail events. These weather events are particularly damaging for vineyards in late Spring when the delicate vine buds are vulnerable to severe damage and, in some cases, the entire crop has been lost. 

An increasing awareness among consumers of the importance of sustainable viticulture and wine production is evident. The report states that "overall, sustainability is an increasingly high priority for consumers, with two-thirds of regular wine drinkers in the biggest markets describing it as important to them – and as high as 70% of regular wine drinkers in the US, and 94% in China". There’s no doubt that consumers are increasingly looking for reassurance of environmental credentials and the onus will be on producers in this regard.

The industry regularly discusses the challenge of recruiting new and younger drinkers to the wine category. It seems obvious that we need to embrace the cultural views of young people and bring food and wine culture and tradition to them, rather than expect them to come to wine by themselves.  One positive view from these reports is that the younger consumers who are recruited into wine, are increasingly adventurous, confident and engaged, making them more likely to be curious about exploring wine.

The NOLO sector is gaining traction as non-alcoholic wine becomes part of the mainstream conversation. Its share continues to grow, albeit from a low base, with more interesting products being produced from regions all around the world, especially the US, with sparkling wine proving particularly interesting.  Premiumisation (especially on packaging but also on "clean" or "low sugar" options) has been strong in this category, as consumers seek a real wine experience from their non-alcoholic choice. 

The evolution in drinking preferences in terms of wine style makes for interesting reading. Rosé wine has grown significantly in the twenty years between 2001 and 2021 and now represents 8% of total market share. White wine plantings have significantly  increased over the same period and white wine (including sparkling which has seen a boom) totals 49% share. Red wine is in decline and the market share has reduced from 48% to 43%.  

The biggest take-away is that the wine industry cannot afford to stand still. Innovation remains key to success and a willingness to adapt to emerging trends is critical. This latter could pose a challenge for producers in traditional wine regions, where regulations are strict and, in many cases, were created many decades ago, arguably for a wine drinking population that is dying out.

It’s safe to say, there are interesting times ahead.

Is zero zero the next big thing for wine?

NOLO ... Zero Zero ... is it the next big thing?

Whatever about low-alcohol, which I feel falls between two stools (if lower alcohol were a thing, then surely Mosel Riesling Kabinett or Spätlese, which are naturally low in alcohol, would finally have their day?), there is definitely an argument for embracing the growing trend in de-alcoholised wines. Over the last few years, January saw the major supermarkets line a few shelves with zero zero wine and beer, perhaps even stacked alongside some vegan ready meals, for the post-Christmas health rush. However, in recent years, the sector now has a permanent posting in most stores and has seen double digit growth (albeit from a low baseline).

What’s interesting is that the non-alcoholic wine offerings are no longer presented as a cheap after-thought - there are now many premium, beautifully packaged products, some even made from organic grapes, proudly offering an alcohol-free alternative. What started with beer, is now also firmly ensconced in the wine drinking category.

I've been exploring some of the 0.0% wine offerings in recent weeks in an effort to understand the growth in this category and its continued upward trend. There has been a notable move towards premiumisation in the NOLO arena and I found most of the wines to be drinkable, some surprisingly so.

My insights, as related to wine consumers, are as follows:

⭐ The non-alcoholic wine category is leaning towards wine drinkers who are trying to moderate or reduce their intake, rather than teetotallers.

⭐ The argument of "why bother, just drink sparkling water" is countered by the lack of an experience from the latter. It’s not always the alcohol that the brain is craving, it may just need the dopamine hit of the relaxation trigger - uncorking a wine, pouring it into a wine glass and sipping on it can deliver this experience, while leaving the alcohol until the weekend. Although I admittedly felt the lack of the intellectual experience that I seek in wine, it's' true that the mid-week restraint delivered a smug, feel-good factor too.

⭐ Low price does not seem to be a key consideration (given the sub-€10 price point of many alcoholic wines on promotion in supermarkets). Despite zero duty, many of the non-alcoholic wines are not cheap and cheerful - there has been a steady focus on premiumisation in the offering. Most have brilliant and classy packaging, particularly the sparkling wines, and there are several organic 0.0 wines that are leaning towards the "everything but the alcohol" message. It seems consumers are willing to trade up for the best experience to deliver that hit of dopamine.

⭐ Having said that, zero zero wines do not strike me as a product for the wine lover or connoisseur, as it's impossible to assess them without looking for what's missing or why they're never as good as the real thing. However, the wine-educated or truly knowledgeable consumer is few and far between - most would claim to "know what I like". For the majority who buy a certain style of big-flavoured wines the taste profile won't be all that different, in that it's "winey" and will fill that mid-week gap to deliver a wine experience.

The wine industry will not serve itself by staying in its bubble, insisting we know best and that the consumer will soon realise the error of their ways. Wine consumption is in decline globally, and if the industry refuses to engage with consumer trends, we will bear witness to further decline. NOLO will have its own hall at ProWein, as it did at Wine Paris recently and it would seem to me that there is an opportunity for brands to encourage drinking less often, but choosing better wine when you are choosing alcohol. We can embrace the move to get healthier, and promote the love of wine into a culture of occasion, food, bonding and connection.

#nolow #nonalcoholic #wineculture #wineindustry #changingthenarrative #wine

Ideally executed - creating a simple social media plan

There's a line from Gary Vaynerchuk that I recently saw quoted by Eamon FitzGerald - ‘ideas are only as good as the execution’. It feels like it's the most difficult thing to get right when it comes to social media strategy. Talking the talk is one thing, but walking the talk is a totally different thing, and a lot more complicated, especially for small businesses. Everyone can tell you what to do and how to do it, but few can do it for you, or do it right.

I've seen several social media strategies, produced by different companies for small businesses (food, wine and lifestyle brands), that are full of helpful recommendations for improving a social media presence. The reports usually include suggestions for multi-network content, branding, SEO optimisation and comments on the photo and video assets that are required to truly succeed. Many of these reports run to over 60 pages, (and having read several, it's hard to avoid cynicism about broad strokes of copy and paste in many cases), however, the real problem is that while the suggestions and recommendations are sometimes relevant and useful, the most difficult challenge is actually getting the job done.

Many small companies or start-ups are 100% focused on the day-to-day job and keeping cash coming in. Anyone who's worked in social media knows just how much time it takes to create a strategy, plan and schedule content, to be interactive with followers and to react to unscheduled events. Some businesses pay thousands to have a marketing agency produce a social media strategy for them, only to find that they don't have the resources, time or experience to follow through on recommendations. They fall at the first hurdle, which is demoralising and an expensive circuit back to where they started.

My advice to anyone starting out is to think about 2 things first - your brand and your voice. Your brand is not what you think or say it is, rather it's what people think or say about you when they are asked about your brand, (admittedly, not always a comfortable space). Your voice is the tone you set in social media - are you business-like and formal or is it more conversational and casual (and it could be a mix of both on different platforms for your various audiences).

Your content should follow the 80/20 rule - 80% "other" content and 20% product or sales-based. Think of the 5 work days and build 4 posts around the 80% 'other' - the where, why, who, how of your product story - and the other can be product information or sales offer. Remember to use video - it doesn't need to be professional, or long and your phone is technically all you need. Just 15-20 second clips, that feel authentic and tell your story. Video can be about product, 'how to' tips, 'did you know' questions or just a recent experience that's relevant.

Set up an account on a social media scheduler platform (many are free, just google it and see what suits your business). Note your day 1 base control line, i.e. how many followers have you got on each platform? How many average impressions and reach do your posts get? Set a goal (e.g. grow followers by X%; average reach by Y%) Plan it out 2 or 4 weeks in advance. Give yourself 3 months and then use the analytics to see how you are performing against your base line, i.e. what posts get the best reaction or most engagement? Which videos are working well for you? Then you can plan the next 3 months based on your results. Remember to like and reply to any personal engagement that you receive from followers and thank people for interacting with your posts.

I won't deny it's time consuming - you'll need at least a half day a week and if you are going to have to spend time creating photos and videos, you'll need more. However, like anything else, if you schedule your time and block out your calendar you'll get it done and you'll also become more efficient as time goes on.

Good luck!

(published to LinkedIn on 14-05-23)

What makes wine (or anything) sustainable?

What makes a wine sustainable?

Many consumers might presume organic farming or low-intervention winemaking to be the answer and, to be fair, it’s a word that has a murky green-ness attached. One is right to be questioning, even cynical, about the word “sustainable” - it’s not a legal term and it’s as susceptible to green washing and marketing abuse as the words “fresh” or “home-made” when it comes to food.

The climate crisis is about urgently reducing the impact of global warming and the only way to achieve this is by reducing carbon emissions. The majority of emissions from the wine industry come from the packaging, namely glass. Glass is extremely heat intensive to produce and to recycle and accounts for about half of all CO2 emissions in the wine industry. One simple, obvious step is to reduce the weight of glass bottles - something which many producers are starting to do, especially for their mainstream or entry-level wines. However it is even more important to break the link between heavy glass bottles and the inherent quality of the product. Until producers also bottle their top cuvées in lighter-weight bottles, the consumer will continue to align a higher quality wine with a heavier bottle weight.

Regenerative agriculture is a new term that has entered the wine lexicon. The concept revolves around the enhancement of soil health and biodiversity, in order to better enable the soil to retain carbon dioxide. This throws the implied benefits of organic (chemical-free) farming or viticulture on its head - in order to control weeds, without the use of herbicide, famers and vintners had been tilling (turning) the soil, thus uprooting weeds. However, tilling releases the CO2 trapped in the soil, thus adding to overall carbon emissions. There are several ways to manage weeds that avoid tilling and the use of artificial chemicals - one being rolling or crushing weeds, which flattens them but keeps the root systems intact. Familia Torres are pioneers of the Regenerative Agriculture movement and it is a new string in their bow to help achieve net zero emissions by 2040.

Water is one of the key considerations when it comes to wine making. Vine-growing consumes a lot of water - in fact, in takes 600 litres of water to make 1 litre of wine and management of water is a vital part of any sustainable philosophy. Recent summers have seen intense heatwaves across the globe and drought is a major concern for all of agriculture. A move to permit irrigation in traditional wine production regions will like be inevitable in the face of global warming and intense heatwaves. Rainwater capture and re-use for winery and irrigation purposes will be essential for the future of food , cereal and vine growing, and installing a pond or reservoir will also encourage biodiversity of plant, insect and animal life.

Sustainability can be defined as a goal or an objective, rather than a means - it’s an ever-evolving journey to do better. Consumers want convenience in their quest for sustainability and the onus is on the wine industry to make it easier to purchase sustainable wine and to spread the message with clarity and consistency.

Quality of Life at Work

I recently wrote a post on LinkedIn about my son’s positive experience of work in his very first job and a lot of people reacted to the post. Work culture has moved on so much since I started my first job! I worked in a pub for £1.90 an hour (very olden days!), but we were only paid until closing time at 11.30pm. The job of cleaning toilets, mopping floors, hoovering carpets and washing out ashtrays was on our time, the argument being that we got tips, which supplemented our low pay. We wouldn’t finish until 1am or even later and tips weren’t guaranteed either, but it was the way it was and you didn’t argue with the boss. Work in the 1990s was very much about feeling lucky to have a job. A job in a pub for a teenage girl also involved quite a bit of agility in ducking the greasy hands of leering drunks most weekends…

So many of us tell stories of our first jobs that were a hard graft for little pay - miserable experiences that taught us the value of money and the lesson that nothing comes easily. My son Eric (16) works in a bar and restaurant too and spends most of his time washing glasses, sweeping up or collecting empty plates from around the venue. However the similarities to my first job end there - he is paid the same hourly rate as others, gets his share of the tips, was paid for his initial trial days, received a paid day of barista training, is halfway through a comprehensive, online hospitality training programme and gets a free staff meal everyday!

He’s expected to work hard and be on time, but he’s learning the value of money, the value of work, the value of a team and the value of feeling valued. He knows he is lucky to have this job - he really likes it, he is enjoying the independence and the experience he is getting on how to deliver customer service and insights into running a restaurant.

It’s brilliant that he has this early exposure to the importance of feeling valued and he already feels a strong sense of loyalty because his employer treats him well. I know that over the next 50 or so years of his career, however it turns out, he'll encounter both good and bad employers, but I do hope that this early, positive experience teaches him his worth as a worker and that he settles for nothing less in the future.

I'm grateful to Press Up Hospitality Group, who run the Elephant & Castle in Brittas Bay.

Creating Value in a High Cost Environment

It’s kicking into the summer season and hospitality businesses are focussing on optimising any tourist or holiday spend that will come their way. Late August and early September are peak times for reviewing a wine list, with the autumn-winter season in mind.

There are some significant challenges this year for hospitality businesses - worldwide supply chain issues, increased energy costs, increased costs of dry goods and a well-publicised inflationary economy is causing consumers to tighten their belts. How can a wine business offer a varied and interesting wine list under these kind of pressures? Read on for some simple things you can do to manage your costs, without compromising the quality and value to your customer:

1. Analyse your list - what are your biggest sellers and why? Is it a popular varietal or is it because it’s the cheapest wine? Be honest and assess your list with a critical eye and be open to change.

2. Once you understand what sells and why, offer more within this category at different price points - for example, if it’s Sauvignon Blanc offer wines that are similar to Sauvignon Blanc in style and of similar quality, but may be cheaper owing to be lesser-known.

3. Increase the selection available by the glass and consider selling by the carafe too. It helps wine to be more affordable for your customer, without compromising on variety. Consider a wine of the week or blackboard specials that pair with a particular dish - this approach will allow you to take advantage of supplier promotions.

4. Offer food and wine pairings - your food menu is a tool to sell wines by the glass and it improves the experience for your customer. Remember to offer an aperitif! Sometimes you just need to ask the question…

5. Remember that it's the front of house team who come face to face with your customers. Train the team accordingly - it will be the difference to your business when it comes to repeat business. Your team don't need to be wine experts, but a bespoke, holistic approach to training will develop an understanding of a food and wine experience, empowering them to speak with a little more authority to your customers.

6. Your wine list is a tool to educate both staff and customers. A well-written, accessible wine list can bring your customers on a journey that is relatively risk-free, offers a premium experience and makes more money for YOUR business.

If you have a vision for your wine business, Wine Allies can help you create a wine strategy that drives revenue and profit, so you can get on with the day job.

See https://www.wineallies.com

Whining about wine lists

I recently enjoyed 2 wonderful meals, one in an established, consistently good restaurant and the other an exciting, reasonably new, venture.

The first was in Kinara Indian Restaurant in Clontarf, where there was a superb and interesting selection of wine by the glass, carafe and bottle, from a combination of smaller and larger importers. There was a reassuring offering of recognisable varietals and styles, but also a solid representation of lesser-known wines, focusing on pairing with spicy food like Riesling, Pinot Gris, un-oaked Garnacha and more. I chose a carafe of Grüner Veltliner by Loimer, which paired brilliantly with our Goan fish curry and my non-wine expert sister was exuberant about the way it all came together. The wine enhanced the overall experience for us both!

The second meal out (it was a good month!) was a brilliant experience of passion for food in a small, Chef-proprietor restaurant outside of Dublin, where the Chef is doing most things right. The food menu was concise and featured local, "everyday" ingredients, each with a twist of interest. The resulting dishes perfectly captured quality, restraint and finesse and the personality and heart of the chef was in every mouthful.

Unfortunately, the wine offering let it down, hugely. 4 reds, 4 whites, no vintages, standard expressions of “cheap” varietals, with a token red and white by the glass (the least expensive) and a "classic" wine from NZ, Rioja, Burgundy and Bordeaux. I get it. When food's your thing, and you're not a wine expert or even aficionado, you put your faith in a wine rep or a friend and ask him/her for a short list. Unless you get lucky with the wine company, and work with people who show an interest in your business concept and what you’re aiming to achieve, you'll get a standard, uninspiring offering.

It's funny - most likely guests won't complain. However they also may not come back, or at least will not come back to drink wine. In my experience a well-thought out, curious wine offering will excite and engage your guests and their overall experience will be improved. This is especially true in a small, tightly-run establishment, where staff are generally enthusiastic and engaged and would benefit from wine training.

It doesn't need to be a long wine list and the wines don't need to be expensive - there is a vast and varied offering out there, from importers big and small. There are easy solutions to managing an extended wine by-the-glass offering. Creating a concise, interesting selection of wines, with several by-the-glass options, and suggesting wine pairings for specific dishes, will bring your guests on a journey beyond expectation and reinforce the unique experience of dining in your establishment.

If you have faith in your customers' curiosity around food, perhaps it's time to open their minds to a curiosity about wine too. Get in touch today to explore how you can do more with less when it comes to wine!

P.S. I shared my thoughts with the Chef-proprietor, who was very open to feedback. I don’t believe it is helpful to share the name of the restaurant.

The Wine Experience

We’re back to work after the long bank holiday weekend and the few days of sunny weather saw lots of us get out and about to take advantage of it. This got me thinking about how the phenomenon of eating out has changed since the pandemic. Food trucks are now commonplace and offering real fare, way beyond greasy chips. Dublin streets, and other towns around the country, now have semi-permanent outdoor seating, which seems set to stay, to the relief of many food and drink businesses.

Many eateries, especially in Dublin, are changing their offering to a less formal style of dining and with the current staffing crisis, this is likely to be the case for the foreseeable future. New or new-look restaurants are focussing on fresh, often local ingredients, small plates are still a thing and menus are more concise in their offering. For this to be a successful strategy, the quality of the offering is critical, especially as prices are still high across the board. The urge to pull back and reduce an offering needs to be carefully considered and done very strategically, rather than reactively. Ultimately, what businesses do now as they rebuild post-pandemic will shape their success for years to come.

So what lies ahead for wine? Getting the wine offering right can be a challenge for many businesses. I’ve encountered so many business people over the years who stick with the tried-and-tested selection because “that’s all that sells”. Well of course that’s all that sells! Too many pubs, hotels and restaurants have a sales representative write their list to an outdated formula - the 2 or 3 usual red and white varietals by the glass, a couple of lesser-known, more expensive wines thrown in, a standard presentation of A4 laminated or leather-bound wine list, no context or philosophy and a team of untrained staff. How can you expect your guests to take an unprompted risk on wine and where’s the experience?!

I won’t deny that consumers can baulk at the price of wine by the glass, equating it to any other wine by the glass in any other venue. However, this is an opportunity for business owners to differentiate their offering and create a wine list selection that delivers real value and a true guest experience. Most consumers don't blink at paying up to €15 for cocktails or long drinks, so why not wine?

Cocktails and long drinks come with theatre and presentation - garnishes, glassware, even drama - and consumers are willing to pay the premium for the experience that the drink evokes. The low and no-alcohol movement is testament to this - mocktails are equally expensive and yet consumers are willing to pay a premium.

A wine list should feed into your holistic business. Consider your food offering, your philosophy, your values - a wine offering should reflect all of these things and be as premium or as fun as you like! Consider alternative presentations, your glassware, by the glass offerings and different size formats, as well as how you present wine to your guests. Invest in training your staff but train them on the experience of wine - the why and how, not the what. What inspires you as a consumer and why?

Learn how to develop a wine strategy that delivers for your business - contact Wine Allies today.

Green is a murky word…

In recent months, I've been working on a project on sustainability and the consumer messaging that surrounds it. What's become abundantly clear is that the messaging is both confusing and overwhelming. There is also quite a bit of green-washing around sustainability and it’s not surprising people feel overwhelmed when trying to make a conscious purchase.

Many wine lovers equate sustainable wine with organic or biodynamic farming - in fact, it's everything else that has the biggest carbon footprint e.g. biodiversity, water use, energy resources, packaging and logistics. (Sustainable Wine Ltd, a UK-based association have some brilliant facts and insights on sustainability, so sign up to their newsletter if you’re interested in this topic).

Organic (and biodynamic) viticulture plays a vital role in promoting biodiversity and soil health, but it is easier in some climates than others. Unexpected weather events can threaten an entire crop - and livelihoods - and it would seem reasonable that a measured treatment, if and when required, to prevent such a catastrophe is more sustainable than the loss of a year's work and earnings. A rational approach and a holistic philosophy is much more sustainable for the longer term - some of the world's most sought-after producers (in Burgundy and Champagne for example) operate a "lutte raisonnée" or rational approach. I applaud those producers who will not compromise, but it's not an option for all.

All steps to be sustainable add up. Larger companies have the biggest impact and this can be a negative or a positive impact. They have a responsibility to lead the way on climate action and harness technology for water capture and re-use, green energy, lighter glass, less packaging and alternative packaging, as well as working to promote soil health and biodiversity through regenerative agriculture, cover crops, natural solutions for weed and pest control etc. As consumers, we must insist that they do. We do that by informing ourselves properly and making eco-conscious purchases.

Look out for lighter glass, carbon neutral symbols, less foil and plastic and become familiar with the symbols and what they mean. There are 100s of “certifications” and some are more worthwhile than others e.g. organic or bio (green leaf logo), Demeter (biodynamic), sustainable (a holistic, “reasoned” approach across the whole business), carbon neutral etc. See the image below for some of the global eco-symbols on wine.

Zero dosage but multi-dimensional …

The 2nd visit was to Etienne Calsac, located at the heart of the Côte de Blancs.

This is Chardonnay country. Etienne Calsac is based in the beautiful, sedate, little village of Avizé and Etienne is a young, enthusiastic and driven grower, who makes wines that are precise and have electric energy. He works 4 hectares of vines (3ha are his own and 1ha belongs to his mother) and when he took over the domaine in 2010, he converted to organic farming and started work to improve biodiversity through ploughing of the vineyards and use of cover crops.

Each plot is vinified separately in order to express its unique terroir and he grows some of the lesser-known grapes allowed in the appellation like Petit Meslier (for its higher alcohol potential and higher acidity levels) and Arbane, which add acidity and body to the wines. Etienne avoids reductive wine making, using old barrels for fermentation and he allows malolactic fermentation to happen, if it wants to. Malo rounds out the low or zero dosage tension that are characteristic of his style. Purity of expression and the capturing of a unique site are Etienne’s prinicipal preoccupation and his wines have verve and finesse.

Some highlights from the tasting:

Les Revenants 2018 was a sensation and has all the romance we love in wine- he planted these vineyards himself and it took 10 years to get it to bottle. A blend of Petit Meslier, Arbane and Pinot Meunier it was a complex, ripe, herbal sensation with chalky, saline mineral notes. The label is a replication of a family photo that he found in an old shoe box.

Clos des Maltries is a savoury “vin gourmand” from his grandparents’ back yard - we tasted the 2017 vintage, from 100% old oak barrels and aged in bottle under cork and not crown cap. Full and ripe with a saline finish.

Etienne is also a bit of a maverick and admits he gets bored easily, which I found very refreshing. He regularly embarks on experimental projects, one of which resulted in the unique wine “Comet” (Projet Comète) with his restaurateur friend, Maxime Chenet. It has verve, energy and tension, with an underlying oxidative note that thrills.

It was a privilege to share a rustic lunch in the cellar with Etienne and the gang - generous plates of charcuterie, cheese, terrine and chewy, crusty bread. All in all, an inspiring and intimate visit and a real insight into what's "behind the label" of these unique, food-friendly wines.

Some of Etienne’s range including le Projet Comète and les Revenants

Etienne Calsac

The Champagne Revolution

I was lucky to get to visit Champagne and Reims last week with a brilliant group of people, to explore the revolution of new and exciting grower Champagne.

The first of 4 producer visits was to Georges Rémy in Bouzy - a serious, thoughtful and understated producer, making some of the most exciting wines that I have tasted in years.

Georges took us through the story of his domaine and his wines. A family-owned estate for many decades, he has transformed the estate since he took over. Landowners since 1829, the family sold their grapes until the 1950s when his grandfather began to produce wines under their own label. Georges made his first wine - a Bouzy red, not a Champagne - in 2011 and his first Champagne was in 2014.

He converted to organic viticulture and achieved certification in 2015, a feat very much against the norm at the time. Georges focuses keenly on terroir and with the estate vineyards located on the Montagne de Reims - Pinot Noir dominant - his skill at making red wine is very much evident in his style. As one of the last vignerons to harvest in Champagne, Georges has to trust his instincts and hold his nerve to get optimum ripeness and balance in both the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes.

Rémy's wines are rounded, open, seductive, yet precise. Les Quatre Terroirs, his base wine, is a blend of 4 villages and is a vinous and gourmand Champagne. Les Hauts Clos was a revelation that unveiled itself slowly, completely ripe with verve and tension.

The next visit would bring us to visit Etienne Calsac, an energetic, young winemaker making linear and electric Champagne wines.

What’s in a resolution?

So it’s a new year … and I have to admit that it arrived somewhat sluggishly for me. I relished the Christmas break - although restrictions meant less socialising, it also meant more relaxing. I took a break from social media and read more books than I have in months. I also enjoyed several films, from a must-watch list I created with my son early in December. I even sat and pondered the garden and how my lazy approach to keeping it tidy is totally acceptable now that it can be considered biodiverse. By the end of the month however, I could feel agitation settling in and that need to DO something. I also fretted a little about what the year ahead would bring for a small, new business like mine…

This train of thought brought me back to the whole reason I set up my business in the first place. That sense of overwhelm that faces many small businesses, especially those for whom the new year is a quieter time. Sometimes putting together a plan and a strategy, particularly after an exhausting Christmas period, is more than a business owner can face. So for 2022, I resolve to keep the why of Wine Allies intact - helping small businesses, who are caught up with the day job, to realise their vision, by delivering a strategy that increases sales.

I have another resolution that will help me to deliver on my business resolution, starting with a simple (and somewhat bandied-around) philosophy of gratitude. Not a grandiose kind of gratitude, but a little and specific gratitude. So before I reach for my phone in the morning, I look out the window and I think about 3 little and specific things to be thankful for - for the sunshine on Brittas bay beach during my walk today, for example (above image). I am also thankful for the work I have and thankful that I enjoy it so much. That resolution will do for right now - it seems that later always takes care of itself. Happy new year.

Laura Peterson