Michael Saunders: ‘Cheap wine is sort of a misnomer, almost’

Speaking to db at Hallgarten’s largest-ever tasting, Coterie Holdings CEO, Michael Saunders, argued that premium wine is no longer a niche strategy but a commercial necessity in a polarising UK market.

Hallgarten’s latest portfolio tasting may be its biggest-ever, but Michael Saunders is keen to steer attention away from the headcount (1,600 across two days) and back towards intent.

“I don’t think, from my perspective, size is the area that I focus on,” Saunders told the drinks business. Instead, he described a deliberate expansion of Hallgarten’s producer base since Coterie acquired the business in 2023, aimed at giving the company “the wherewithal to develop in the markets that we’re looking to move on from”.

Saunders said Hallgarten had previously held “a great range of agencies” but was “quite restricted in certain areas, non-existent in other areas”. According to Saunders, the past two years have seen a reinforced buying team bring in new producers across both volume and “the very, very top end”.

Premium wine as strategy not ornament

Saunders was clear that premium is not simply a safer harbour during uncertain trading conditions. It is, in his words, “just the pitch we want to play on”.

He argued that the economics of entry-level wine are becoming increasingly strained as costs rise across the supply chain. He cited pressures including duty, EPR, PRN, employment tax, delivery costs, warehousing and business rates.

“Cheap wine is sort of a misnomer, almost,” Saunders said, adding that while low-priced wine still exists, “there’s not much wine in that bottle. It’s a lot of cost of the bottle”.

A supermarket Assyrtiko and a glimpse of consumer appetite

Despite acknowledging a “very, very tough” market, Saunders offered optimism, pointing to a project involving an own-label Assyrtiko for a supermarket. Hallgarten helped deliver an “entry-level own label Assyrtiko” through its buying team, and the wine “way outsold their expectations”.

“If you give the consumer the right proposition at the right price that’s well made […] the market’s there,” he said.

It is a small but significant anecdote, in a market preoccupied with declining consumption and shrinking margins, it suggests there is still room for wines with character, provided the pricing does not drift into fantasy.

Competitors struggling and agencies changing hands

Asked whether Hallgarten’s run of new producer announcements has been aided by weaker rivals, Saunders did not pretend otherwise.
“It’s a competitive business, so I’m not going to be shy and say we don’t try and seize advantage where we can,” he said, adding that the sector is undergoing “polarisation”.

Saunders also said Coterie has benefited from relationships with some producers choosing to follow him and Andrew Shaw based on long-established trust, proof that AI cannot replace legacy. He described an approach steeped in reality rather than inflated promises, saying the business avoids telling producers it will sell “10 million bottles” if it believes the real potential is closer to one.

What stayed the same after the acquisition

Although Hallgarten’s range and pace of change have accelerated, Saunders insisted some core attributes were preserved. He praised Hallgarten’s loyalty, service culture and customer relationships, saying he had underestimated “how good the customer service was” even during due diligence.

“I would say there’s probably nobody better out there,” he said, adding that maintaining that service was a priority.

Board-led structure

One of the most significant changes now underway is leadership. In March, Hallgarten’s MD of 16 years, Andrew Bewes, will step down, making way for a board-led structure. Saunders suggested this shift reflects the natural cycle that follows a change in ownership.

Coterie Holdings purchased the business, which was originally established in 1933, in 2023, and Bewes has remained in post throughout the transition.

Rather than appointing a direct replacement, Hallgarten will operate under a group structure that includes a group CFO and group buying function. Will Oatley, recruited from Louis Latour Agencies, will report to him, completing Coterie’s new wine Galácticos lineup.

Saunders said the previous model was “very MD-led” but that the new structure should allow more people in the business to be “accountable, responsible for their functions”.

A market that is changing and a trade that must adapt

Saunders did not deny the headwinds facing wine, including declining consumption. He said the rapid growth in consumption seen earlier in his career was not sustainable. For him, the answer is partly premiumisation, moving away from wine as merely “a carrier of alcohol”, and partly the hard commercial reality of defending market share.

“It is slightly the way of the world, isn’t it? If you look back, nothing stayed the same,” he said.

In a business increasingly shaped by cost inflation, consumer caution and shifting routes to market, Hallgarten bets that good wine will matter more than ever.

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