New World Sparkling Wine
2018 GOLD: 2 SILVER: 3 BRONZE: 3 COMMENDED: 6
2017 GOLD: 2 SILVER: 4 BRONZE: 2 COMMENDED: 4
Your customers like sparkling wine. We know this. And there are real opportunities to cross- or up-sell them into styles that they’re not so familiar with, particularly if the price is right. We know this, too. But for some reason the message isn’t really getting through to the New World’s fizz producers.
Year after year, while prosecco, English and now even cava stride forward with large entries and big medal counts, this remains rather unloved. Not enough wines come in, and even fewer good ones. The best stuff, clearly, is coming from The Cape and New Zealand (who between them accounted for all but two of the medals here), but no one seems to have owned the category yet. An opportunity waiting to be seized…
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘Most of these were very unbalanced.’ Lazaros Engonopoulos, Coq d’Argent
‘The winemaking wasn’t good here. The acidity was all over the place. I don’t know if it’s the mentality that everyone’s drinking so much prosecco, they need to create a sparkling wine, too.’ Andre Luis Martins, Cavalry & Guards Club
‘We had to fight to find medals here. I used to drink Tasmanian sparkling, but these were disappointing. You expect them to be squeaky clean.’ Sarah Jane Evans MW, team leader
‘Fizz is a celebration drink. You’d have to be really into your sparkling wines to enjoy some of the more unusual notes here.’ Euan McColm, Beaverbrook
‘There is a market here, it’s a category that’s underprovided for, but they need to be at the right price. It needs to be at the same price as prosecco or under – you need to build the market. But it’s a fun market, and there’s possibility there.’ Angela Reddin, team leader
‘It was a good flight. All good examples. People do ask for it – especially women!’ Javier Alonso Cardoso, Yauatcha City