Twenty-seven countries:that’s the number into which the Brits are exporting their premium sparkling wines.Japan, Taiwan, France and Italy are high in the markets being reached by the bubbling wine that makes up 70% of domestic production.Cartons of the stuff are now going into New York, and there are big expectations that they will make their mark in Scandinavia and Asia.

Not only that, the UK is expecting a ten-fold increase in sales in the coming years. Not bad for a country that has, relatively speaking, taken to modern winemaking later in the piece than others. And it’s a fact that change in the climate – once always cold and unpredictable – which now brings a growing season that is milder and helping to produce a high- quality grape.
Good news for Britain. Historically, they’ve always been good at invading and conquering, and it’s the medium price area that they’re setting their sights on. Not such good news for producers of Australian sparkling wine, who have until now held poll position in that export market.
So the competition is on. We need to find our mojo, as it were, to counteract the inroads the UK sparkling may well make into not only our established markets for sparkling wine, but for the potential ones that are always opening up..
The quality of Australian sparkling wine is almost second-to none, outside of premium French champagne, and certainly gives Spanish Cava and Italian Prosecco a run for their money.
Beyond convincing major buyers and reviewers, the real arena lies in the countless bottle shops of the world. This is no lower-end quaffing wine being offered for the consumer’s delectation. Good quality wine always attracts a good price, and as noted above, it’s in the area of the $15 to $30 a bottle range that’s under attack from the UK.
Designing a unique label is always a good start, but at the end of the day it’s the quality of the bottle that ends up being eye-catching. If the bottle looks good and premium, then – goes the mind of the consumer – the wine that’s in it must be pretty good to and well worth their hard-earned money.
Glass produced in Australia simply doesn’t offer the necessary range of colour, tolerances and style needed to get to that point. And we’ve preached enough about the unreliable standards of glass produced in Asia.
The best that is on offer is the glass produced by the premium European glassmakers, who offer the range you want, at a price that is competitive, and with a rapid turn-around time that means from the day you place the order to the arrival of the bottles in your yard doesn’t take as long as you might think.
Call us at Pipwin today and look at the options available.
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