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Is the finest wine really the best?
Can you really taste the difference between wine from a supermarket and a bottle from specialist retailers?
AS usual, supermarket wine shelves are in a state of flux. Following years of declining market share, supermarket own-label wines are making a comeback.
But don’t expect the traditional cut price bargains. This new generation of own brand wines, sport labels swiped from expensive up-market food lines.
Depending on the store you frequent, the label will declare these wines, ‘the best’, (Morrisons) ‘the Finest’ (Tesco) and ‘Taste the Difference’ (Sainsbury’s).
This latest marketing initiative takes place in a world awash with wine. Even some top premium wines from California’s, Napa Valley, are being re-branded and sold at bargain prices.
English supermarkets’ wine buyers are having a great time. But a new generation of increasingly sophisticated consumers – often prepared to spend more on good wine – are not impressed. They are deserting the supermarket drinks aisles and frequenting specialist wine retailers such as Majestic and the UK’s expanding independent wine retailing sector.
The supermarkets – as usual – have been quick to fight back, their weapon highly regarded brand names already respected by well-heeled shoppers.
Since its launch by Tesco more than a decade ago, the ‘Finest’ food brand concept, has proved to be a market winner and Tesco has extended the range to many other sectors including household products and wine. Currently it carries more than 80 ‘Finest’ wines out of 200 plus own-label wine products.
Sainsbury’s which carries a large range of ‘Taste the Difference’ food products has been less enthusiastic in introducing the concept to its wine range and have far fewer, but includes a £22 bottle of Taste the Difference vintage champagne.
Morrisons are beginning to build a range of ‘Best’ wines that includes a Chilean Carmene.
Used in food aisles, where EU law dictates that products carry a clear list of comparable ingredients and coupled with a simple pricing system and an easy to understand quality structure the ‘Finest’ concept was a valuable asset to shoppers.
Applying the concept to Tesco’s wine range is meaningless. Tesco Finest Sancerre is typical of several wines we checked – it was the only Sancerre available. The consumer cannot compare or make an independent judgement and has to accept Tesco’s claim, that this wine is indeed the finest.
We asked Morrisons spokesperson Charles du Pre why the company had recently introduced their ‘Best’ range of wines. He said: “Morrisons believe their customers like them to introduce new and interesting wines on a regular basis”.
Okay, but are they really the best?
Finally we asked six members of this paper’s wine panel to carry out a simple test.
They were given two wines. A Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference wine and a bottle from a convenience store. They were told what was in the bottles but not which wine was in their glass.
The Test
* Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference, Medoc, ac, Red, 75cl, 2004 £6.99 (pictured).
Produced by Dourthe a long established Bordeaux wholesaler turned producer.
A traditional blend of predominately Cabernet Sauvignon, with some Merlot, reversing the trend of recent years to downsize the Cabernet content of Medoc wines in favour of Merlot.
* Andre Francois, Medoc, ac, red, 75cl 2004 £5.99 Costcutter (Prince of Wales Road NW5 branch).
Again a traditional blend with Cabernet, Merlot and even some Cabernet Franc.
The Verdict:
There was general agreement that both wines tasted very similar. The label claimed the Costcutter wine was full-bodied but our testers felt it had less body than the Sainsbury’s, Taste the Difference, Medoc – described on the bottle as medium-bodied in style.
Both wines tasted less sweet – two testers said a little sour – than is usual for a modern wine. An attribute liked by four of the testers, three of whom felt, the Sainsbury’s bottle was the better wine.
More good flavours, with better balance and harmony between the fruit, acid and tannins plus a longer finish and a more pleasing after taste gave this wine the edge over its rival.
The final result saw, three testers plumping for Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference and two for the cheaper Andre Francois, with one tester judging both wines – “awful”.
Overall our testers were unable to taste a great deal of difference between these two wines. |
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