KEY POINTS:
Britain's biggest supermarket chain, Tesco, has doubled its offering of New Zealand wines in another breakthrough for the industry in the British market.
Tesco will stock 44 Kiwi wines when it launches its new list on August 13, one of the events of the British wine year. The list will include varieties other than the staple sauvignon blanc.
The retail giant, which has 1780 stores in Britain, says the doubling of New Zealand wines on its shelves is the result of customer demand.
"It's what our shoppers want," spokeswoman Kate Sarginson said.
"New Zealand wines - and rosé - are the two big things. They are the two categories that are doing best in the UK market at the moment."
The bible of the trade, Off-Licence News, confirms the trend. According to its latest report on the British wine market, sales of New Zealand wine have jumped by 31 per cent this year, much faster than any other nation.
"The UK's love affair with New Zealand wine gets more profound by the vintage," the report says.
"From a small but expanding base, the Kiwis have shown the largest market growth over the last 12 months."
The average bottle price of New Zealand wine is also No 1, having climbed steadily throughout the year to crack the £6 barrier ($16), reaching £6.11.
That's 50 per cent higher than the overall off-trade price this year.
Tesco's wine-buying department said the sticker on some premium wines from vineyards such as Villa Maria would be as high as £9.99.
Average bottle price is considered a more important ranking than total market share because it gives retailers healthier margins.
New Zealand's share of the British wine market by value is 2.9 per cent, up by half a per cent on last year.
That market share is worth £126 million in sales.
New Zealand is ranked ninth of the 10 leading countries supplying the British market. Spain, which has a much larger capacity to produce wine, has a static 6.7 per cent market share.
Germany, with the advantages of market access through the EU, has 3.6 per cent of the market, and its share is falling.
Tesco's wine buyers say they are excited about the diversity of New Zealand wines and have bought large stocks of zinfandel, merlot, syrah, riesling and pinot gris. A newcomer to the chain's shelves is a pinot gris from Marlborough's Grove Mill, a sustainability-certified vineyard in a market for which "green" products attract premiums.
Although sauvignon blanc still accounts for 73 per cent of New Zealand's sales in Britain, wine lovers are clamouring for varieties such as pinot noir which, Off-Licence News says, "is arguably a more exciting prospect".
Kiwi vineyards are also developing a name for sparkling wines.
Tesco posted group revenues of £46.6 billion last financial year.
What a corker
* Sales of New Zealand wines in Britain have jumped 31 per cent this year.
* The average cost of a New Zealand bottle is £6.11, 50 per cent higher than the overall trade price.
* New Zealand's share of the British wine market is 2.6 per cent, worth £126 million.
Source: Off-Licence News
