Portugal needs to prioritise stronger branding for its wines, regions and grape varieties, concluded a UK trade panel in a discussion hosted by ViniPortugal at this year\u2019s London International Wine Fair.
\nAccording to off-trade data analysts Nielsen, Portuguese wine sales still account for less than one percent of the UK market.
\nIdentifying elements holding Portugal back in the UK, Danny Cameron, director of specialist Portuguese importer Raymond Reynolds, stressed: \u201cthe country has to be better at creating commercial brands which are relevant to the markets where they are sold.\u201d
\nHe also urged importers and producers to \u201cget closer to sommeliers and independent retailers to mobilise their ability to hand sell these wines \u2013 not a lot of people are going to come in looking for Portuguese wine.\u201d
\nTo illustrate this point, Joan Torrents, wine buyer for UK pub group Mitchells & Butlers, highlighted a survey carried out by the company across 20,000 customers in its 200 Vintage Inns outlets. When asked about wine buying preference in relation to country, customer responses placed Portugal well outside the top 10.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s great to have a wine you love, but if it doesn\u2019t bring customers in then it\u2019s no good,\u201d he summarised of Portugal\u2019s failure to win listings in all but two outlets in the 1,600-strong Mitchells & Butlers UK pub portfolio.
\nIn addition to stressing the need for Portugal to strengthen its commercial brands, Cameron argued for better \u201csub-branding\u201d of the country\u2019s grape varieties and regions.
\n\u201cThe Douro is now the most famous region in Portugal, but after that the consumer has absolutely no awareness whatsoever,\u201d he argued. With 98% of UK visitors to Portugal going to the Algarve, Cameron also called on ViniPortugal to work more closely with the country\u2019s tourism and gastronomy organisations to create \u201ca more cultural experience for the consumer.\u201d
\nDescribing Touriga Nacional as \u201ca fantastic grape variety,\u201d Cameron nevertheless noted: \u201coutside the confines of the London International Wine Fair, no one\u2019s heard of it.\u201d
\nAs for one of the country\u2019s other major varieties, Cameron pointed to the confusion and generated by a grape called Tinta Roriz in the north, Aragones in the south and Tempranillo in the rest of the world.
\nVoicing support to Portugal\u2019s indigenous varieties, Torrents observed: \u201cIt\u2019s about taking the grapes they have and just shouting about it. 20 years ago no one had heard of Prosecco. Get one, get behind it and get on with it.\u201d
\nIn summary, Cameron stressed the importance for Portugal of building familiarity of its unfamiliar regions or varieties, using the popularity of Rioja as an example as he remarked: \u201cEven if people don\u2019t know what it means, it creates confidence and especially important is that they know how to pronounce it. We now spend as much time training people in pronunciation as all the technical detail.\u201d
\nIn response to these comments, Nuno Mendes, marketing director for ViniPortugal, agreed: \u201cWe have to speak a little louder in the market.\u201d However, as a counterbalance to the modest picture painted by Nielsen, Mendes pointed to his country\u2019s export figures as he reported: \u201cIn the last three years Portugal\u2019s UK exports have doubled.\u201d
\nAttributing this growth largely to the UK independent and on-trade sectors, Mendes also set this performance within the broader context of Portugal\u2019s 22% growth in wine sales to the European Union, with a 21% uplift outside the EU.
\nNick Oakley, director of specialist Portuguese importer Oakley Wines, also painted an upbeat picture of the country\u2019s progress within the UK \u201cacross all sectors\u201d during the last year alone.
\nHighlighting four new lines taken by Tesco for its premium own label Finest range, Oakley also pointed to the decision by independent merchant Tanners to introduce an own label Douro wine, of which 900 cases were pre-sold. \u201cPortugal is really taking off,\u201d he observed.<\/p>\n