Spanish success at The Wine Society

Spanish wine sales have soared at The Wine Society as the country becomes the fastest growing category for the mail order specialist.

The growth makes Spain fourth on the Society’s volume ranking by country, and has prompted the retailer to launch its first ever member offer exclusively dedicated to Spanish white wines.

The Society’s Spanish buyer, Pierre Mansour, speculated that the sales success was due to the country’s engaging white wines.

He said: “The biggest progress is in the country’s white wines which are wonderfully clean, fruity and very appealing.

“To celebrate this The Society will be making its first offer exclusively of Spanish whites in the summer, which will include Galicia, Rueda and the Mediterranean,” he added.

Also resonating with The Society’s customers are some of “Europe’s very best reds” from Spain, according to Mansour.

He said: “The choice from Rioja is outstanding at the moment thanks to a string of brilliant vintages, but perhaps more exciting are the wines from lesser-known regions which offer the wine drinker authentic Spanish flavour at unbeatable prices.

“Navarra is making some of the best wines in its history. At under £7, we think these are amongst Europe’s very best reds, which offer real character and drinkability for the price.”

Meanwhile, Alsace sales at The Wine Society have been affected as a result of the recession, as Alsace buyer Marcel Orford-Williams (pictured left, with Etienne Hugel of Hugel & Fils) told the drinks business at last week’s Wine Society Alsace tasting in Lewes.

He said: “Alsace has suffered a bit at the lower [price] end, but people who buy Faller will always buy Faller,” referring to Domaine Weinbach’s wines.

However, undeterred by the reigning-in of discretionary spending on wine, Orford-Williams concluded on a positive note, saying that the company’s Alsace tasting 10 years ago would have been nowhere near as busy as last week’s tasting.

He said: “People are going to Alsace more and more, tourism is important for improving its wines’ recognition, for example, people stop off on the way to go skiing in Italy.”

Alsace was recently voted as one of the top 10 regions to visit in 2010 by travel guide Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2010 list.

Jane Parkinson, 07.06.2010