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Why is Old World Wine dropping in UK
Rachna Jalan

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Table of Contents 
Why is Old World Wine dropping in UK ....................................................................................... 1  Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 3  Aims and Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 4  Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 4  Literature Review........................................................................................................................ 4  Primary Research ........................................................................................................................ 5  Secondary Research .................................................................................................................... 6  Conclusions & Recommendations .............................................................................................. 6  Background ..................................................................................................................................... 6  The UK Wine Market ................................................................................................................... 10  The Old World Wine Producers ................................................................................................... 13  France........................................................................................................................................ 13  Italy ........................................................................................................................................... 14  Spain ......................................................................................................................................... 15  Portugal ..................................................................................................................................... 16  The New World Wine Producers .................................................................................................. 17  Australia .................................................................................................................................... 17  United States ............................................................................................................................. 18  Chile .......................................................................................................................................... 18  South Africa .............................................................................................................................. 18  Analysis of Research and Findings ............................................................................................... 20  The Competition – Old World versus New World ................................................................... 20  The Causes – Decline of Old World Wines in the UK Market ................................................ 25  Graphs & Tables ........................................................................................................................... 30  UK Wine Market: Value by Country (Off Trade) .................................................................... 30  (ACNielsen 2004) ..................................................................................................................... 30  Among the top five exporters (by value) of wine in UK market in 2004 we observe that the New World wine producers contribute 47.5% whereas Old World wine producers for the same year have a share of 28.9%. During the same period we find that the New World wine has grown by 3.4%, whereas Old World wine has lost the market share by around 2%.Comparative Analysis between Old World Wines & New World Wines.......................... 30  Comparative Analysis between Old World Wines & New World Wines ................................ 31  The UK Wine Market Shares (in percentage)........................................................................... 32  Chances of re-seizure still alive .................................................................................................... 33  Recommendations ......................................................................................................................... 35  Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 38  Bibliography ................................................................................................................................. 40 

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Executive Summary
The wine market in UK has been the central hub of wine collection from all over the world. Until recently the Old World economies have been leading in the UK wine market for supplying the classic wines. However, with the emergence of the New World wine producers offering a huge array of wine to choose from along with aggressive promotional strategies have overpoweringly grabbed the market from the hands of the Old World wine manufacturers. The Old World countries like France which used to enjoy monopoly for decades in exporting its tradition-rich wines to the UK markets are now being dominated by the New World economies like Australia with incredible marketing techniques. Factors like poor branding, restricted labelling, inconsistent quality and inept promotional strategy have together led to the decline of the Old World wine producers in the UK wine market. To combat this severe threat an intensive reviewing of attitudes towards brands is exactly what is required for the Old World wine producers to recapture the wine market in UK from the hands of the New Wold wine manufacturers. Understanding the consumers’ needs in today’s modern wine market, adopting clear labelling, recognizing the increasingly stylish wine supply chain, filling the huge information gaps is exactly what is required from the manufacturers of Old World wines. Hence, it is only through the union of innumerable small Old World wine producers reviewing their entire branding strategy that the possibility of their sustainability in the UK wine market prevails.

Key Words: Old World, New World, wine, market, UK, France, Australia, manufacturers, producers.

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Aims and Objectives
The steadily declining share of the Old World wine producing countries in the UK wine market due to the dominance of the New World wine producing economies at an alarming rate has necessitated carrying out the study. The principle objective of the study is to understand and learn from the parameters that have led to the decline of Old World wine over New World wine in the UK market. The dissertation also aims to throw light on the rapidly changing wine market of UK in the recent years. Another aim of the dissertation is to assess the demand for the Old World wines and to understand the impact of New World wines on the Old World wine market in UK. The study also intends to put forward a small number of focused recommendations that can be implemented by actors within the wine industry of the Old World which will help them to regain their market share in UK.

Methodology
Literature Review
An in-depth verification of existing documentation (Reference materials, Trade publications, Consumer magazines, etc.) is carried out in order to avoid the errors committed in previous researches and avoid duplication of information from past researches. The existing strategies that are recommended by previous researchers are evaluated on the basis of its implementability, viability and cost effectiveness. Documents are referred from public and private sector and the publications available in libraries. Documents are evaluated in the areas of: • • Sectoral changes in the overall Wine Industry in U.K. over the years International wine markets

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Promotional literature published by various Old and New world wines’ manufacturers is also assimilated and evaluated.

Primary Research
The first step to Primary Research is to define the objective followed by construction of the questionnaire that will be used to carry out the research. After we construct a suitable questionnaire we carry out a Pilot Testing. This will include carrying out a sample research within a randomly selected people. This is primary done to ensure that the questionnaire is designed in line with the objectives of the research. Now, after we have decided on the questionnaire we decide on the target sample. In this case, we consider wine drinkers as source for feedback i.e. we go ahead with Specified Sampling as the means to access data. Now we need to freeze on the means of carrying out the research, and we decide upon Direct Interviews, Focused Group Interview and Telephonic interviews. The direct, focused group and telephonic interviews is carried out with the wine drinker, wine lovers, opinion leaders, pub and bar owners, middlemen and distributors and different point of sale and also the stakeholders in the wine industry in order to congregate information in relation to: • Consumer Expectations - Parameters that are considered before buying wine. It includes the tastes and qualities, brands and labels • • Comparison between the Old World and the New World Wines Comparison in various promotion and advertising done by both the wine manufacturers and its impact on the consumer • Feedback from restaurants, pubs and supermarkets in demand and preferences of the customers and themselves

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Feedback from the distributors and retailers on commissions and discounts.

Among the stakeholders the following are included: • • • Pubs, restaurants and bars Supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury Wine merchants

Secondary Research
Data is sourced from related internet sites, journals, online newspapers, periodicals, books and other academic publications. These sources have provided valuable information pertaining to: • Differences in promotional approach and other strategies between the Old World and the New World Wine manufacturers • Current state of the Old World Wine and the future predictions and estimates

Conclusions & Recommendations
On the basis of this assimilated information congregated by following the above steps, a number of conclusions and suggestions are prepared. The collected data will provide various changes in consumer habits, tastes and preferences over the years those were tapped by the New World Wines which lead to its growth over Old World Wine in U.K. These suggestions relate to the present and future sustainability of the Old World wines in the UK markets.

Background
The UK wine market is recently experiencing a spirit of rebellion that is bubbling up to challenge conventional tastes (“U.K. consumers” 1995). “Consumer preferences once satisfied almost entirely by old-line European labels are giving ground to varietals from “New World” © 2009 ThesisBlog.com

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vineyards” (“U.K. consumers” 1995). A report by the Agricultural Affairs Office of the Foreign Agricultural Service in London clearly reflects increased UK wine consumption, continued growth in imports and diversification away from traditional suppliers (“U.K. consumers” 1995). Various European wine producing economies are undergoing tough times (Harrop 2006). France, Spain, Italy and Portugal, the leading wine producers of the world are gradually losing their market share in UK, which is a crucial export market for wine (Harrop 2006). The crumple of the Old World producers’ share in the UK market has arrived with corresponding export growth in the chief New World wine producing regions such as Australia, South Africa, the US and Chile (Harrop 2006). The European producers may find the declining figures hard to swallow but the ignorance of the present scenario will certainly result in a huge number of disgruntled European farmers out of work (Harrop 2006). The wine market in UK acts as a pivot around which substantial wine exports from almost all the wine producing economies revolve (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). The Old World wine producers who enjoyed almost monopoly some 15 years back are currently facing vigorous competition from the New World producers (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). To combat this severe threat an intensive reviewing of attitudes to brands is exactly what is required for the Old World wine producers to recapture the wine market in UK from the hands of the New Wold wine manufacturers (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). However, due to the unrelenting negation of certain Old World economies such as France the British wine market appears to be dominated by the New World nations (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). As per Richard Halstead of Wine Intelligence, a market research group, “France is a classic example of how Old World producers have consistently failed to understand the consumers’ needs in today’s modern wine market” (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). Insistent advertising and

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product uniformity have emerged to be the most important factors for the Old World producers for lagging behind the New World wine creators such as Australia (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). According to the recent annual survey of UK wine trade buyers conducted by Wine Intelligence, very little chances of re-seizure of the UK wine market share from the New World wine exporters is reflected which leaves a note of caution for the Old World wine producers (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). The survey even predicts a further dropping down of the Old World wine in UK due to the increasingly stylish wine supply chain in the country (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). According to Halstead, the traditional wine promoting tactics such as “buying a piece of France” when one buys a bottle of French wine is no more enough to lure the more practical UK wine consumers of today (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). Halstead further states the modern British wine market is more enticed by the more rational factors such as product consistency, packaging and price-quality ratios, all of which together are enabling the New World wine producers to steadily overtake the Old World countries (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). As per the 2004 edition of “What UK Trade Buyers Want”, the New World wine manufacturers will continue to occupy the top positions in restaurants’ wine menus as well as on supermarket shelves as a result of changes in supply chain and the correspondent consumer demand (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). According to Halstead, majority of the trade buyers have already taken decision to abandon a substantial number of medium and small-sized suppliers who could not cater to the expected class of service (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). The quality of service which the UK’s wine market demands today can be achieved only through frequent observations in the pubs, supermarkets and restaurants enabling the suppliers to

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get the true picture of the market requirements. Most of the European producers fail to prepare growth strategies based upon the actual understanding of the market needs. Due to the smallness in size, most of the wine producing countries in Europe undertake exhaustive activities right from the preparation of wine to its promotion. The New World operators on the other hand, are generally much larger in size enjoying the benefit of dedicated sales team. The New World wines are quite often sold through more sophisticated ‘super agencies’ (for example the UK’s Western Wines) which provides the buyer a single point of contact for a huge array of wines and more time to understand the retail trade and its expectations clearly (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). Such a privilege is rarely availed by the relatively smaller Old World wine producers. This disadvantage of them is effortlessly sanctioning the slipping out of the wine market in UK from their hands (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). Halstead rightly states, ‘The fact that, in this day and age, French producers are still prevented from putting the grape variety on the front of the label is a complete joke” (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). This is because the grape variety is a major factor for the buyers. As per Halstead’s advice, the only way of combating the tough competition with New World wine is reviewing the entire branding strategy of the Old World wines (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). France remains the biggest supplier of wine in the UK wine market providing 2.6 million hectolitres (Vyse 2005). However, the sales of French wine in off-licenses and supermarkets have recently been grabbed by the Australian wine sales (Vyse 2005). Halstead clearly remarks that the Old World wine producers in order to remain in the competition need to prepare the wines in accordance with the consumers’ demands rather than their own preferences (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). The confidence that the New

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World wine manufacturers have generated in the minds of the people through consistent product quality and reliable supplies has placed them at a far better position that the Old World wine producers.

The UK Wine Market
“Not everyone jostling for space on the UK wine market is going to survive over the next five years, but those who are to become some of the industry’s biggest earners” (Mercer 2007b). In the words of Anne Burchette, the managing director of Castel UK, which owns Oddbins wine stores, “Some companies are not going to survive. People in the middle will find it very hard...” (Mercer 2007b). As per the report of Vinexpo, the world’s biggest wine and spirits fair and IWSR, the UK consultancy, consumers in UK are expected to spend more on wine than any of their European equivalents by 2010, when the retail sales are most likely to cross the ₤5.5bn mark (Mercer 2007b). Among the world wine markets the UK occupies a pivotal role around which substantial wine exports from almost all the wine generating countries revolve (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). It is already the world’s largest importer of wine by value (Wine Marketing Report 2002).The New World (non-European) producers offer almost one-third of the wine consumed in the UK (World Horticultural Trade 2002). For most of the wine manufacturing economies UK is a key if not the principal target export market especially for Australia and the United States (Wine Marketing Report 2002). The wine market in UK is both brand and price sensitive (World Horticultural Trade 2002). The consumers of UK enjoy the privilege of matchless range of economies of origin and varietals (Wine Marketing Report 2002). The chief UK supermarket chains monitor the volume

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of the sale (Wine Marketing Report 2002). The consumers of UK are frequently found to buy more wine at the cost of beer (World Horticultural Trade 2002). The consumption of wine at the cost of beer has been increasing with per capita consumption up by 40% between 1992 and 2002 (Wine Marketing Report 2002). This trend is expected to grow as more consumers are exposed to the adaptation of wine culture (World Horticultural Trade 2002). According to the UK wine consumer profile he or she is over 25 belonging to the upper-middle or middle class (classified as AB social grade). The UK consumers demanding wine are found to drink more frequently especially at home (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Supported by steady news of health benefits the red wine reveals maximum prospects (World Horticultural Trade 2002). The white wine is now being dominated by the red wine in the UK market reflecting the growing level of maturity and knowledge of the UK consumers (Wine Marketing Report 2002). In 2001 only, the total New World wine imports in UK have already increased by 18% (Wine Marketing Report 2002). In 2005 the wine market in UK was estimated to be of £10.28bn reflecting a quarter (24.6%) of spending on alcohol in the country (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). “This share increases gradually, but steadily, as British consumer tastes shift away from beer and spirits towards a more cosmopolitan model of drinking” (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). With almost all wine in the UK being imported the country offers a fiercely competitive marketplace (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). Every significant wine yielding economy is found to face tough competition in the UK market (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). The Old World countries led by France are found to struggle hard to keep pace with the New Wold exporters led by Australia (Wine Market Report Plus 2006).

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The present UK wine consumption patterns reflect consolidation within the wine manufacturing industry and explosion of global brands (Wine Marketing Report 2002). Brands delivering consistent quality at the right price are the preference of the consumers (Wine Marketing Report 2002). New World wine producers specially Australia and the United States with big prominent winery brands are steadily capturing the UK wine market eliminating smaller known wines from conventional European sellers (Wine Marketing Report 2002). The still wine in the UK market is less in demand (Wine Marketing Report 2002). France is continuously experiencing a diminishing market share (Wine Marketing Report 2002). Though France topped the EU bulk revival in 2001 the value of French imports are not expected to pick up (Wine Marketing Report 2002). Italy and Spain though look like holding on to their value market share for the time being are increasingly vacating the market in terms of volume (Wine Marketing Report 2002). Germany is lagging behind more than the others with both its value and volume increasingly falling (Wine Marketing Report 2002). The rise in the demand of sparkling wine in the UK market due to the beneficial prices on offer, extensive accessibility and a rising portfolio resulted in the expansion of such wines in terms of value as well as volume (Wine Marketing Report 2002). The sparkling wine reflects a highly prospective scenario in the future wine market of UK as the consumers are adopting its usage for more informal occasions (Wine Marketing Report 2002). On the other hand, vermouth and other flavored or aromatized wines are facing less demand in the UK wine market (Wine Marketing Report 2002). The present market in UK is led by the New World wines and the Spanish Cava (Wine Marketing Report 2002).

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The Old World Wine Producers
The Old World wine producers chiefly encompass the significant wine producing economies of Europe. The EU wine regime was implemented during Marketing Year 2000/01 with the objective of attaining enhanced quality, greater market orientation and renewed old vineyards (World Horticultural Trade 2002). There was even an increase of 3.3% in the EU Budget for the wine industry from 1.292 billion euros in 2001 to 1.335 billion euros by 2003 (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Major Old World wine producing countries have been listed as follows:

France
“The French Ministry of Agriculture reports the 2001 wine crop at 56.2 million hectolitres, down about 6 percent from the previous level” (World Horticultural Trade 2002). During the first half of 2001 the wine exports of France to UK which stood second during the year 2000 increased by 39% (World Horticultural Trade 2002). With the view to upgrade the promotional activities of French wines in the foreign markets the government of France raised ONIVINS (French Office for Wines and Vines) promotional budget 21% to $10.5 million (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Between 1996 and 2006 the French imports in the UK wine market has faced a decline from a third to fifth of the market (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). French wines are suffering loss of UK wine markets mainly because their supplies are still fragmented by traditional names based on region, producer or estate (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). The other drawbacks are their inconsistent quality and prices that have grabbed the UK wine market from their hands (World Horticultural Trade 2002).

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It was estimated that with around 40% increase in marketing funds the French wine producers can tackle the reducing sales in the UK and fight back the very real threat from New World wines (Vyse 2005). Last year the French government introduced a multi-million euro rescue plan with the objective of providing aid to its wine industry encompassing €12m export support and an overhaul of the quality control system (Mercer 2006a). According to the French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin the export fund is intended to offer financial assistance for the creation of a new “France” wine brand along with encouraging winemakers to unite under new marketing schemes (Mercer 2006a).The government has offered a total of €90m in additional funds for its new wine strategy (Mercer 2006a).

Italy
During 2001 wine production in Italy fell by 5% from 2000 to 51.5 million hectolitres (World Horticultural Trade 2002). This was primarily the result of weather factors along with the inducements of EU to deracinate vines (World Horticultural Trade 2002). In spite of the constant curtailment of acreage France is followed by Italy in terms of yield (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Italy’s aim is the creation of improved quality of wines by restricting yields (World Horticultural Trade 2002). The current policies focus on the development in production techniques (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Among the top importers of Italian wine during the year 2000 the UK occupied a significant position (World Horticultural Trade 2002). The largest increases in terms of higher-value wine of Italy was sent to the UK market (World Horticultural Trade 2002).Competition from New World wines has certainly put pressures on endeavours to expand the Italian market abroad. Planeta, a medium-sized one is an Italian brand which is innovative and is heading towards the right direction (Harrop 2006).

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What is making the Italian wines suffer in the UK market is the over-concern of the Italian wine producers about their image (“Italian wine in the doldrums…” 2005).“It would be a humiliating admission of defeat to reduce prices, even if the cellar is stocked sky high with the last three unsold vintages” (“Italian wine in the doldrums…” 2005). The frustrated groan of one of the longest-serving importers of Italian wine into the UK can be ascertained as, “they make very good wine but they don’t look beyond their own nose. They have no idea that everyone else in the world is producing fantastic wine too” (“Italian wine in the doldrums…” 2005). The Italian wine specialist writer Master of Wine Nicolas Belfrage considers it more important to strengthen the position as a wine producer that uniquely express Italian character and Italian grape varieties rather than winning crowns for selling massive volumes of wine (“Italian wine in the doldrums…” 2005).

Spain
Spain has been covering the maximum area under vines in the world (World Horticultural Trade 2002). According to the Federacion Espanola del Vino (FEV) the UK accounted for 14% of the wine sales during 2003 (“Price cuts hits” 2003). Spain’s most popular export wine Rioja has been suffering from huge demand loss due to many years of highly haphazard prices and deficient harvests (“Price cuts hits” 2003).. However, in terms of sale Rioja created a new record in 2006 with total shipments of 261 million litres of wine, an increase of 4.3% over 2005, with exports up by 11% (Tolliver 2007). Maximum volume of Rioja is exported to the UK wine market which accounts for 35% of all export volumes with a sale of 27.8 million litres (Tolliver 2007). This reflected an increase by 13.8% which was double that in 2000 (Tolliver 2007). The Spanish Cava which has remained popular in the UK wine market for long has been currently experiencing falling demand (Tolliver 2007).

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Portugal
The favourable climate and soil conditions facilitate wine production in Portugal (Wines & Beverages n.d.). UK has been an important export market for Portuguese wine. Wines sent to the UK market mostly comprise of Port Wine (Wines & Beverages n.d.). Portuguese wine exports to the UK market increased by 10% in 2005 (Robinson 2006). “It is not coincidental in my view that Portuguese wine has started to do so well in Britain now that Fernando AndresenGuimaraes is Portuguese ambassador to Britain” (Robinson 2006).

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The New World Wine Producers
The major New World wine producers have been listed as follows:

Australia
The Australian wine industry first established its objectives of setting up wine markets in the United Kingdom in 1996 (Australian Government 2001). During 2001 the Australian wine exports was reported by Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation to procure new value and dimensions records (World Horticultural Trade 2002). The wine market of UK along with United States alone has been consuming over 80% of the rise and 70% of the aggregate quantity and value of foreign sales (World Horticultural Trade 2002). General promotional activities in vital foreign markets most importantly the UK are conducted by AWEC, a committee of the export promotion arm of the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation established in 1991 (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Besides conducting promotional programs, AWEC also offers recommendations for export, statistical data and promotional materials (World Horticultural Trade 2002). The Australian wine export industry is subjugated chiefly by big companies out of which the ten leading exporters alone cover more than 85% of the gross exports value (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Between 1996 and 2006, the Australian share of wine in the UK market has doubled (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). Clear branding and the use of ‘varietal’grape names such as Merlot or Pinot Gris has primarily contributed to the success of the New World wines in the UK market (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). Due to their consistent quality and more affordable prices, the Australian wines have seized the UK wine market from the hands of the traditional exporters (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Australia offers the leading brands in the UK market such as Hardys and Jacob’s Creek (Wine Market Report Plus 2006).

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United States
The UK occupies the largest share of US wine exports (World Horticultural Trade 2002). In 2001, the gross value of the total US wine exported to the UK exceeded $169 million (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Data acquired for the year 2000 reveals that an increase of 10% took place in the exports of US wines to the UK (“Import Export Numbers” 2001).. The wines of United States enjoy the advantage of consistent quality and more affordable prices in UK wine market (World Horticultural Trade 2002). The country offers popular brands namely Gallo, Blossom Hill and Fetzer to the UK wine market (Wine Market Report Plus 2006).

Chile
The Chileans too like the Italian wine manufacturers are concentrating on the upgradation of the quality of their wine now (World Horticultural Trade 2002). However, rather than cutting down the yields the Chileans have kept their production stable (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Existence of pre-phylloxeric seed plants has contributed to huge plantings of quality wines from strains brought to the country in the 1900s (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Because of the off late improvements in grape and wine producing technique along with modernization of equipment and facilities, Chile shares a common position with economies having more upgraded potential for yield and exportation of fine wines (World Horticultural Trade 2002).

South Africa
After an impressive growth trajectory South Africa’s wine export volumes in UK, the country’s largest and longest-standing export target, are showing a considerable fall in 2007 (“2006 A tough year” 2007). As per the latest information, South Africa’s total volumes to the UK are down 17% year-on-year (“2006 A tough year” 2007). Major alterations in brand

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ownerships and distributorships in the UK have disturbed the market share of South African wine (“2006 A tough year” 2007). The take over of South Africa’s biggest wine brand, Kumala, first by Vincor, and then by Constellation has added further to the decline (“2006 A tough year” 2007). However, the stakeholders of South Africa’s wine industry are confident to recapture their lost market share very soon in UK (“2006 A tough year” 2007). South Africa owns the FirstCape brand, which belongs to the top 20 wine brands retailed in the UK (“2006 A tough year” 2007). The year 2007 is expected to witness big launches of South African wine manufacturers who are on their way to enter the UK wine market (“2006 A tough year” 2007).

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Analysis of Research and Findings

The Competition – Old World versus New World
With around one-third of the UK wine consumed, arriving from the New World producers the Old World countries like France are losing their shares in UK market due to tough competition from the United States and Australia (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Even the smaller wine producers such as Bulgaria, Portugal and Hungary (irrespective of their lowered rate of duty) are facing steep competition (World Horticultural Trade 2002). In spite of the brand and price sensitivity of the UK market, opportunities exist for wines from the Pacific Northwest, New York, Virginia, and Texas (World Horticultural Trade 2002). In 2006, French wine grew in UK by only 0.9% (Mercer 2007a). Off late, a research conducted by Vinexpo reflected Australia’s victory over France as the UK’s number one wine supplier (Sabadus 2007). During the period 2001 to 2005 when the imports of French wine to the UK dropped by 7.58%, the imports of Australian wines increased by 51.7% (Sabadus 2007). It was during this same period when imports of the US wines was more than doubled whereas the South African wine imports increased by more than 50% (Sabadus 2007). Fifteen years ago, the Old World wine producing countries were reported to capture around 95% of the total market (Harrop 2006). However, the recent dropping of this figure to almost 45% is undoubtedly a matter of concern for the administrators at the EU (Harrop 2006). Between 1996 and 2006 when the Australian share of wine imports is reported to be doubled the French imports during the same period has faced a decline from a third to fifth of the market (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). Major factor contributing to the success of the New World has

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been clear branding and the use of ‘varietal’grape names such as Merlot or Pinot Gris (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). What holds the Old World wines from moving ahead along with the New World wines is that the supplies of the Old World wines are still fragmented by traditional names based on region, producer or estate (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). The leading brands in the UK market such as Hardys and Jacob’s Creek come from New World countries like Australia followed by the US, which offers other popular brands namely Gallo, Blossom Hill and Fetzer (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). Diageo, a UK company already owns Blossom Hill and Piat D’Or (a French brand) while Constellation Brands Inc the world’s biggest wine company of today has wine collections from the major New World wine producing countries namely the US, Australia and South Africa (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). The United States along with Australia due to their consistent quality and more affordable prices has led to a considerable loss of France’s market share in UK (World Horticultural Trade 2002). It was reported in 2003 that France remained the biggest supplier of wine in spite of the expansion in the demand of New World wines in UK (“World wine sales” 2003). The report of Vinexpo in association with the UK-based International Wines and Spirits Record (ISWR) rated France as the still number one during 2003 (“World wine sales” 2003). Although during the 1990s France underwent considerable loss of market share (from 38% in 1990 down to 28.9% in 2001) a significant rise in the demand for French wines was seen in certain part due to the existing cross-channel trade (“World wine sales” 2003). According to the report the sale of Australian (+87.7%), South African (+69.1%), Chilean (+38.2%) and Spanish (+39.7%) wines all are rising sine 1997 (“World wine sales” 2003). In spite of the given data, the report persisted that the upward trend of French wines in the UK market still appears to continue due to the

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reason of the present and future supply problems of France’s key competitors (“World wine sales” 2003). It is true that France still owns the largest share of wine imports in UK (Tran 2006). As per the data obtained from HM Revenue & Customs for 2004, France accounted for 20.6% market share followed by Australia’s 17.3%, Italy’s 11.1%, America’s 10.7%, South Africa’s 8.3%, Spain’s 8.3% and Chile’s 6.1% (Tran 2006). However, the main problem that France is facing now is that it is losing ground in a growing market along with Spain (Tran 2006). In 2005 the wine market in UK was estimated to be of £10.28bn reflecting a quarter (24.6%) of spending on alcohol in the country (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). “This share increases gradually, but steadily, as British consumer tastes shift away from beer and spirits towards a more cosmopolitan model of drinking” (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). With almost all wine in the UK being imported, the country offers a fiercely competitive marketplace (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). Every significant wine yielding economy is found to face tough competition in the UK market (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). The Old World countries led by France are found to struggle hard to keep pace with the New Wold exporters led by Australia (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). “In UK sales of white wine staples such as Pinot Grigio and Soave have also compensated for haemorrhaging demand for fine Italian reds but even so, Italy – which was once challenged only by South Africa, with shrinking total imports already overtaken by those of Spain and California into the UK” (“Italian wine in the doldrums…” 2005). According to IWSR’s forecast Italy is most likely to lose around 37.6% of its export markets mainly to New World wines by 2008 (Mercer 2005).

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In the recent years, the market dynamics of the pub trade in UK have revealed remarkable difference from those of the supermarkets (Huddlestone 2006). The Old World economies of France, Italy and Spain held a kind of dominance they have not enjoyed in the off-trade for close on 20 years (Huddlestone 2006). However, the latest picture reflects a different scenario in the on-trade with New World economies led by Australia, the US, Chile and South Africa capturing a rising share in the UK market (Huddlestone 2006). According to Jane Hunter, marketing director for Californian giant Gallo in Western Europe, “France is really driving the decline in the Old World, but Italy is up by 5% and that’s really driven by Pinot Grigio” (Huddlestone 2006). Another expert, Jon Luke, on-trade channel director at Blossom Hill firm Percy Fox comments, “It’s not as simple as Old versus New World any more. Italy is on the up and up, but France is in decline, yet it’s still enormous” (Huddlestone 2006). He further puts that Australia is “in freefall” and is mostly expected to be surpassed by the US very soon in the on-trade (Huddlestone 2006). As per the pub wine statistics in 2006, France is still a huge market but is being overtaken by Italy as Australia is expected to lose ground to the US in terms of sales volume (Huddlestone 2006). Much of the credit for the huge growth of wine market off- late in UK is being given to the New World wines such as Australia, California and South Africa (Huddlestone 2006). Most of the New World wines enjoy the advantage of being branded as majority of the consumers are more comfortable with branded wines as it provides confidence about the quality (Huddlestone 2006). Off late, a research conducted by leading industry monitor Wine Intelligence expressed that almost 89% of the consumers preferred to buy brands in the on-trade that they locate in the supermarket (Huddlestone 2006).

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Major factors for the success of Australian wines since 1990 have been summed up as: (Australian Government 2001): • A united industry, with a common objective towards where it wants to head along with a wide strategy to accomplish it; • • • • • the technological know-how of their wine-personnel; a culture which facilitates modernism; quality viticulture and imparting fine training on oenology; a favourable climate and landscape; a strong emphasis on the desires and expectations of the consumers. Sharing close historical ties with UK, the Australian wine-yards easily and promptly recognized and responded to this booming economic prospective in the UK wine market (Anderson, 2004: 5). Extensive food-safety awareness became another vital cause for swiftly swinging the market away from the Old World wine producers (Anderson, 2004: 5). The current success of Australian wines in the UK market is simply unbelievable where the per capita wine consumption has revealed a doubled figure each decade since 1960 (Anderson, 2004: 5). From merely 3 litres a generation earlier, it has shot up to 16 litres per capita (Anderson, 2004: 5). This aggressive capture of the UK wine market by the New World resulted in only a quarter of Britain’s increase in wine imports from Europe during 1990s (Anderson, 2004: 5). In spite of the increasing potentials in UK wine market, the European suppliers could not match the sophisticated demands (Anderson, 2004: 5). This was mainly because of innumerable regulations like restrictions on the particular type of grapes to be used in every label, on highest productions and content of alcohol, as well as on wine concentration along with guidance schemes (Anderson, 2004: 5-6). Moreover, manufacturers of wine were also protected from conditions of

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market by cost sustainability in Western Europe and socialist setting up in Eastern Europe (Anderson, 2004: 6). Modern wine businesses require considerable time, efforts and money to recognize the changing tastes of consumers along with promoting and marketing their merchandise (Australian Government 2001). This exercise has become inevitable due to the growing awareness among the consumers (Australian Government 2001).With customers becoming more educated and matured they will never opt for products which are below their expectations both in terms of quality and price (Australian Government 2001).

The Causes – Decline of Old World Wines in the UK Market
The United States along with Australia due to their consistent quality and more affordable prices has led to a considerable loss of France’s market share in UK (World Horticultural Trade 2002). Other factors contributing to the success of the New World in acquiring a large section of the UK wine market has been clear branding and the use of ‘varietal’grape names such as Merlot or Pinot Gris (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). The Old World wines are lagging far behind the New World wines as the supplies of the Old World wines are still fragmented by traditional names based on region, producer or estate (Wine Market Report Plus 2006). The stunning export growth of the New World producers is the result of superior product, exceptional value and comprehensive marketing strategies (Harrop 2006). However, the issue of New World export success as a result of mere product quality has been a debatable topic (Harrop 2006). It has been said that “the initial wave of New World export success has less to do with

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product quality and more to do with the fact that the consumer can actually understand their labels. The truth probably lies somewhere in between” (Harrop 2006). It cannot be denied that majority of the New World Wine manufacturers adopt a more strategic approach to marketing their product (Harrop 2006). Aggressive marketing endeavours were derived out of the enormous competitive pressure imposed on them by the Old World wine producers who have been dominating the market in the 1980s (Harrop 2006). According to Rohan Jordan of Colruyt Retail Group “Australia has more of a growth strategy, while France has more of a stability strategy” (Mercer 2006b). He further said, “unlike the French, Australians consider industry collaboration of paramount importance and this is applied much more” (Mercer 2006b).The New World wineries went on to ask the customers what they actually wanted and set out to provide them exactly what they desired: a product comprising the qualities of good worth, uniformity and easy-to-understand (Harrop 2006). “Certainly not rocket science, but a winning formula that has resulted in the emergence of a number of global wine brands marketed in a way not dissimilar to any other successful commodity” (Harrop 2006). “While it seems that brands are taking over the export market, with the top 20 brands in the UK alone up from 24 million cases in 2003 to 42 million cases in 2005, the Europeans are still not reacting with the intensity that they should” (Harrop 2006). Out of these top 20 brands in UK only two brands are originally European (Harrop 2006). Apart from a handful of mediumsized producers that are more pioneering such as Mas Jean Paul, James Herrick and the Italian brand Planeta that are actually proceeding in the right direction, most of the global brands born out of Europe are designed and owned by UK and US distributors (Harrop 2006). The root problem is that “It consists of very restrictive labelling laws that prevent the grape variety from being revealed to the consumer, a regionally structured system that is overly

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complex, EU subsidies that dull the impact of the free market and stave off change, and finally plain old insularity and resistance to change on the part of the wine makers” (Harrop 2006). These issues oppose not only a successful export strategy but also the new reality of globalisation in the production of wine (Harrop 2006). The most common drawback of the Italian wines is that they are not good at explaining things to outsiders (“Italian wine in the doldrums…” 2005). “It seems to be viewed as a sign of weakness rather than a sensible sales aid to embellish a bottle with a back label that might spell out which of the eight unfamiliar proper names on the front label is the grape, which the appellation, where that appellation might be (simply naming the region would be helpful), which is the name of the producer and which is the brand name dreamt up by same” (“Italian wine in the doldrums…” 2005). French wines are suffering from the same problem. Most of the Old World wines are going through the problems of over-production, falling consumption and shrinking export markets which are further contributing to the melting down of these wine industries (Mercer 2005). It is a regular complain of the consumer that they rarely get good, inexpensive French wine (“Regulating wine” n.d.). “This is partly because of the consolidation of the retail market in the UK with the split between specialist independents and supermarkets growing into a gulf, and the middle ground of the multiple specialists shrinking” (“Regulating wine” n.d.). The trouble experienced by the French manufacturers is actually threefold. First of all, the French wine producers have been production-led rather than market-led (“Regulating wine” n.d.). They have less understanding of the markets they are selling to (“Regulating wine” n.d.). They first produce their wines and only then they ponder upon the ways of selling their wines (“Regulating wine” n.d.). Here is where they lack. The New World producers have worked the other way round.

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They first study the market, understand the consumers’ expectations and then accordingly prepare wine that will succeed there (“Regulating wine” n.d.). Secondly, the French have not concentrated on the quality across the board (“Regulating wine” n.d.). This reflects lack of ambition. For instance, Bordeaux which encompasses massive volumes of largely dismal, joyless, green wines have persistently suffered due to insufficient demand (“Regulating wine” n.d.). Thirdly, restricting the entry of poorer producers from market forces by the AOC (Appellation di Origine Controli) system is a big mistake long-term (“Regulating wine” n.d.). Market forces being a strong incentive to acquire quality there lay no way for the weaker producers to learn from these qualities due to the no-entry factor (“Regulating wine” n.d.). Aggressive advertising and product consistency have emerged to be the most crucial factors for the Old World producers for lagging behind the New World wine creators such as Australia (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). A recent annual survey of UK wine traders conducted by Wine Intelligence predicts a further dropping down of the Old World wine in UK due to the increasingly dynamic wine supply chain in the country (“Old World still facing struggle”, 2004). Majority of the Old World wine producers fail to prepare growth strategies in accordance with the actual understanding of the market requirements. The Wine producing countries in Europe are often small-sized that shoulder the burden of the whole process right from the preparation of wine to its promotion. The New World operators on the other hand, being much larger in size make the best of their dedicated sales team. The New World wines are conveniently sold through more sophisticated ‘super agencies’ such as the UK’s Western Wines offering the buyer a single point of contact for a huge collection of wines along with sufficient

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time to understand the retail trade and its expectations lucidly (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). The Old World producers seldom reap such advantages. According to Halstead, the considerable fall in the price of wine off late, needing the reverse the deflationary trend has led to the promotion of more expensive wines (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). The New World wines in spite of being more expensive have been successful to persuade the consumers to opt for them by making them feel as if they belong to a sophisticated club as per Halstead (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). The ‘expensive’ factor of New World wines is now their advantage instead of their drawbacks which has been possible due to the success of direct selling operators such as mail order groups or online wine traders through better information management (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). By adopting persistently aggressive promotional tactics such as employing off licence managers, properly trained to convince the buyers by providing them detailed information about the products, the New World producers are increasingly grabbing the UK wine markets (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). This huge information gap enables the New World wines to steadily overtake the Old World wines (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). Halstead claims that only through the union of innumerable small Old World wine producers the huge marketing budgets of the New World wine manufacturers can be challenged (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). “But the trouble with this is that there are so many products lumped together under these ‘brands’ that maintaining consistent quality is impossible”, comments Halstead. He further states that a single ‘bad experience’ with one particular poorquality of wine prevents the consumer to buy the entire group of that wine (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004).

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Graphs & Tables
The following graphs and tables clearly reflect the fall of Old World Wine and the rise of New World Wine in the UK wine market:

UK Wine Market: Value by Country (Off Trade)

(ACNielsen 2004) Among the top five exporters (by value) of wine in UK market in 2004 we observe that the New World wine producers contribute 47.5% whereas Old World wine producers for the same year have a share of 28.9%. During the same period we find that the New World wine has grown by 3.4%, whereas Old World wine has lost the market share by around 2%.

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Comparative Analysis between Old World Wines & New World Wines

Parameters Quality Branding Labelling

Old World Wines Inconsistent Poor (Mostly Regional Branding) Restrictive Labelling Laws (Variety of grapes not clearly distinguishable) Not an important part of the strategy Production Driven Approach i.e. first produce and then plan for selling No impetus an advertising and promotion

New World Wines Consistent Clear Consumer-Friendly Labelling (Use of ‘varietal’ grapes names) Plays a crucial role in planning for the product Market Driven Approach i.e. first understand the market and then design the product Advertising and promotion plays a very crucial role to hit the market Dedicated promotion & marketing team) Attractive & Modern Packaging Justified Price-Quality Ratio (Sometimes Premium Priced) Very Aggressive

Understanding Consumers’ Expectations Marketing Strategy

Advertising & Promotion

Packaging Pricing Competitive Spirits Supply Chain

Traditional & Old-Fashioned (Less Attractive) Lack of good quality wines at fair prices Laid Back Approach (Not Aggressive) Traditional Supply Chain (Broken links between producers, distributors & retailers)

Cultural Influence

Over-Production Trap Size & Financial Strength

Use of ‘Super-Agencies’ (Producers, distributors & retailers are well connected and hence dynamic) Lesser cultural similarity between Higher cultural affinity between the producing regions and the the producers and the consumers consumers Not a planned approach to Understanding, market demand production, hence overand production thereafter production avoiding over-production Small-sized with low budgets Big-sized with huge budgets (Undertaking of the entire process (Work is divided under from preparation to marketing) specialised workforce)

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The UK Wine Market Shares (in percentage)

For the year 2004

Details Country Volume

Old World Wine Producers Total France
20.6%

Italy
11.1%

Spain
8.3% 40.0%

New World Wine Producers South Australia Chile Africa
17.3% 8.3% 6.1%

Total
31.7%

(Tran 2006)

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Chances of re-seizure still alive
Recently opportunities have come up for the Old World wines to recapture their lost shares in the UK market. At the France Under One Roof show held in London this year at the Lord’s cricket ground, a distinct whiff of optimism infecting the hall of French wine was realized (Mercer 2007a). A part of a new French range came from Mont Tauch along with Gerald Bertrand, an ex-rugby player both belonging to the troubled wine region of Languedoc Roussillon and both aiming to slip their new wine ranges neatly into retailers in the UK, encompassing Sainsbury’s and Somerfield (Mercer 2007a). In the words of Francois Miquel, export sales director at Gerald Bertrand, “I am convinced that French wine will be coming back in the UK. We have so many different kinds of wine, and I think the market will get bored rather quickly with only Australian or Californian products,” (Mercer 2007a). According to the latest information collected the recent crop failures in Australia have resulted in deficiencies of popular grape varieties (Sabadus 2007). The UK wine drinkers have already been cautioned about the predicted rise in prices of Australian brands (Sabadus 2007). “Several years in which there was an Australian grape glut meant imports were sold at heavily discounted prices – often below £5 – and put Down Under ahead of more traditional wineproducing countries such as France and Italy in the UK market” (Sabadus 2007). However, the 2006-7 growing season, which underwent countrywide drought, harsh frosts, bush fires and plagues of locusts have compelled some of Australia’s biggest suppliers to issue a warning over prices (Sabadus 2007). According to the suppliers, prices in the UK are most likely to be affected due to the 30% fall in this year’s crop (Sabadus 2007). It is being expected that the continuous oversupply of Australian wine of the previous three to four years will end this year (Sabadus 2007). It is being foretold that there will be a blow on coming year’s growing season into the

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2008 vintage (Sabadus 2007). This reflects severe pressure on prices during the end of next year (Sabadus 2007). According to the chief winemaker at Jacob’s Creek, “With a price increase [in Australian wines], I think a lot of European producers at the lower end may become more competitive than they have been in the past” (Sabadus 2007). He adds, “We are seeing a significant increase in sales from Italy and Spain and from the lesser-known areas of France. I think that there is a curiosity to try new things from Europe and that trend will continue” (Sabadus 2007). Though New World wines have significantly conquered the UK market The Scotsman wine columnist Rose Murray Brown predicts possibilities of changes in this trend (Sabadus 2007). In his words, “this trend is changing and people, as their palate gets more educated, will move on towards the European style” (Sabadus 2007).

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Recommendations
From the above study, it is implicitly clear that the traditional European suppliers have much to do to regain market share. The Old World economies are required to work extremely hard in order to stave off the challenge of New World producers in the years to come.“Pulling out thousands of hectares of vines at a huge expense to the tax payer to address surplus capacity is a temporary solution, if it is a solution at all” (Harrop 2006). The Old World wine makers actually need an education on how to give consumers what they want (Harrop 2006). Brands that convey consistent quality at a justified price are always desired by the consumers (Wine Marketing Report 2002). “France which is renowned for its poorly marketed products due to its perceived snobbery, can no longer afford to be complacent about the image and reputation of its wine” (Vyse 2005). The Confederation of French Wine Co-operatives (CCVF) has recently taken up the task of swift and radical restructuring throughout the industry with a new emphasis on selling wines (Mercer 2005). The CCVF’s action plan reflects the acceptance of aggressive marketing strategies, which have been overlooked throughout (Mercer 2005). The co-operatives claim, “By re-building our industry around the concept of strong brands, we will be able to re-launch ourselves on the market” (Mercer 2005). This new move reflects the growing adoption of ‘anglosaxon’ marketing models by French vintners as the only way to compete with aggressive New World exporters (Mercer 2005). It can therefore be recommended that all the other Old World producers adopt this same approach to re-establish themselves in the UK wine market. It is high time that the traditional wine producers switch over to more dynamic marketled approach rather than simply following the production-led method which fails to reap optimum benefits. Quick adoption and implementation of the New World producers’ strategy of

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understanding the market first and then preparing wine on that basis is the key to gain success. The Old World wine producers should keep in mind the ‘supply follows demand’ factor. “So the way forward is for wine producers to understand their markets and make wines that will succeed in them” (“Regulating wine” n.d.). It is important for the European wine producers to understand the increasingly stylish wine supply chain in UK. The UK wine market is currently with the power of the supermarkets to such an extent that in order to sell commercial wines in huge volumes it is imperative for the Old World wine producers to get their products listed there (“Regulating wine” n.d.). The quality of service, which the UK’s wine market demands today, can be achieved only through frequent observations in the pubs, supermarkets and restaurants allowing the wine sellers to obtain the true picture of the market requirements. Another good idea is to encourage the small family-owned wine producers to participate in the export market as much of the interesting wines are prepared by them (“Regulating wine” n.d.). Barriers to enter the export markets for the small producers should be withdrawn to enhance the flow of innovative thoughts (“Regulating wine” n.d.). According to some, it is best for commercial French wine production to consolidate with fewer, more professional, market-oriented producers (“Regulating wine” n.d.). This can be achieved by several means. One way is by raising the standards starting right from the vineyards and extending through the winemaking process (“Regulating wine” n.d.). The other way is the assumption of more of a role for producer associations (“Regulating wine” n.d.). The best producers can be rewarded with separate bottlings for their wines and the remaining can be mixed lifting the standard across the board (“Regulating wine” n.d.). These ideas are offered from the prospective of producers who hope to succeed in the UK marketplace as it appears today (“Regulating wine” n.d.).

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In order to combat the present threat an intensive reviewing of attitudes to brands is exactly what is required for the Old World wines. Creating proper reliable brands is very important to recapture the wine market in UK from the hands of the New Wold wine manufacturers. It should be kept in mind that consumers must be able to actually understand the label. The Old World wine’s restrictive labelling laws such as the French rules which prevents the producers from putting the grape variety on the front of the label should be revised (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). This is mainly important because the grape variety is a chief factor for the buyers. Apart from revealing the grape varieties and the flavour distinctly a good labelling system also requires a producer to list content volume, percentage of alcohol present and the country of origin to meet standards. The Old World wine producers in order to come back to their previous positions in the UK market need to concentrate on insistent advertising and product uniformity. Halstead suggests that only through the unification of the numerous small Old World wine producers the giant marketing budgets of the New World wine producers can be confronted (“Old World still facing struggle” 2004). The wine firms require a branded as well as private label offering along with expert staff that is skilled at steering the products through the network of supermarket negotiations and over the shop shelves (Mercer 2007b).

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Conclusion
The UK wine market has been considered as the most dynamic in the world. It has been rightly declared as the world’s largest importer of wine by value. The wine market in Britain therefore stands as the focal point of all thriving wine exporters around the globe. The Old World wine producing economies chiefly France, Italy, Spain and Portugal until recently occupied the entire market of Britain enjoying a somewhat monopoly in the UK wine market. However, of late, this scenario has been significantly changing with considerable shift of the UK consumers towards the modern wine suppliers of the New World countries. What the Old World wineries have been having in common recently are problems in the UK market, chiefly due to those pesky New World upstarts in Australia, United States, South Africa and now even Chile (Mercer 2007a). Almost one-third of the wine imports of UK currently comprise of the New World products. These non-European wine producers particularly Australia and the United States with big prominent winery brands are rapidly grabbing the UK wine market eliminating smaller known wines from conventional European sellers. Hence, the present wine imports in Britain is being led by the New World wines while the Old World wine producers France in particular is facing a diminishing market share. The Old World wine producing countries such as France has been suffering loss of market mainly because their supplies are still fragmented by traditional names based on region, producer or estate. Their inconsistent quality and prices have added to their failure in the UK market. The other major contributor for the breakdown of these traditional wine suppliers in the UK wine market has been their production-led approach rather than a market-led strategy.

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Due to their consistent quality and justified prices, the New World wine producers such as Australia, United States, South Africa and Chile have seized the UK wine market from the hands of the traditional exporters. These new wine exporters by way of offering popular brands have been tremendously successful in winning over the confidence of the consumers of UK which the contemporary wine suppliers have failed to win till date. Not only do the New World wine producers study the markets and the consumers’ requirements prior to designing their products, they even go on to educate the consumers about their products thereby reflecting an extremely aggressive promotional strategy. Their consumer-friendly labelling along with cultural resemblance goes a long way in acquiring a strong tie-up with the wine importers of Britain. The current scenario of the steadily falling share in the UK wine market calls for the immediate alertness of the Old World wine producers before it is too late to come back. This requires a thorough observation of the wine markets in UK. For the Old World wine producers to get their products listed in the UK supermarkets they have to foremost understand what consumers actually want. The next important approach would be the maintenance of a standardized quality of wines along with adoption of clear labelling thereby revealing implicitly the variety of grapes used. Chances of coming back still exist with France remaining the number one wine supplier in UK. The European Union along with the individual governments of the Old World countries is initiating programs for providing aid to their wine exports. They have now recognized that the time has come to make the consumers of UK realize that after all wine belongs to them.

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Bibliography
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