House Wine: White
2015: Gold 5 Silver 13 Bronze 11 Commended 17
2014: Gold 6 Silver 11 Bronze 12 Commended 9
When we first started SWA in 2007, our ceiling for the House Wine category was £4 ex-VAT. Now it is £5.50. And if you want proof of how wine has become more expensive consider the fact that this year, only four of our medal winners came in at £4 or below.
On the plus side, for the whites, at least, our tasters were positive about what they saw. Relatively few faults, decent fruit and even (gawd help us) a bit of character sometimes. Frankly, it’s hard to ask for more. Chile and France tended to perform best and while most of the wines were in the fresh, Sauvignon spectrum, it was good to see the odd Chardonnay picking up a medal too.
FOOTNOTE: The price limit for House Wine is £5.50 ex-VAT.
From the Tasting Teams
‘The value was very good. All the ones we liked had a bit of mineralit . They were mostly dry, fresh and aromatic, rather than at the richer end.’ Giuseppe Longobardi, The Cross at Kenilworth
‘Too many of these were too green for house wine. You want something softer and easier to drink.’ Richard Brookes, Caroline Catering
‘With the huge increase in wine by the glass, house wine does not play as big a role now. I think house wine should be sold by the bottle – it’s such a low margin that you don’t want to be pouring it a day later.’ Martin Lam, team leader
‘You make a lot of GP with these wines, so you need to look very carefully at price. You want a very crisp, easy-drinking wine; light without too much complexity.’ Riccardo Guzzardo, The Gilbert Scott
‘You should have wines in this category that help people to push their boundaries, but also things to please a table that wants simple things.’ Jade Koch, team leader
‘The worst here had a somewhat confected and artificial sweetness, and the best had freshness, acidity, balance. It’s easy to be harsh, but some of these wines are sub-£4 a bottle…’ James Hocking, The Vineyard Group
‘There was a real diversity at these price points, which was great to see. There is a subtle difference in consumers’ minds between house wine and wines by the glass, with by the glass not just being the cheapest wine on the list, and these fit that bill.’ Hamish Anderson, The Tate Group