Our final look back at 2015 is from Clare Griffiths, commercial director for Concho y Toro UK which saw an impressive performance for 2015- which may be tough to beat. But looking ahead Griffiths is most excited about continuing the work her team has been doing in 2016 by focusing on building strong brands that deliver value in the UK market.
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As we all ease our way into 2016 and we have a few of our final thoughts as the year begins from John McLaren, UK director of Wines Institute of California. Californian wines have done incredibly well in 2051, but McLaren sees consumers which buy from supermarkets as a challenge ahead in 2016.
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Ted Sandbach, managing director and owner of the Oxford Wine Company, looks back at an exciting 2015 with opening of another Wine Cafe and figures are up with his wholesale business. He is looking forward to enjoying the Great Escape over the Christmas break, but looking to 2016 Sandbach sees more consolidation ahead for the industry.
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Anita Jackson, UK director of Wines of Chile, looks back at a successful 2015, with volume and value figures up over the previous year. She was particularly pleased with the success of the innovative Mercado Andino tasting in 2015. But over the Christmas period she looking forward to putting her feet up and enjoy a little down time before 2016, where she sees the biggest challenge ahead is getting consumers to trade up in their wine purchases.
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Bernard Fontannaz, founder of Origin Wine, looks back at an overall positive 2015 and is excited about the sustainable future he is building for his company. He had a year full of expansion and is looking forward to more innovation in 2016.
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For founder of Red Squirrel Wine, Nik Darlington, 2015 was a year of tremendous growth. Next year Darlington is looking forward to getting his wines even further around the UK. He sees that in 2016 the way forward, although challenging, will be through building a loyal and sustainable customer base.
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Dan Townsend, general manager of Europe for Treasury Wine Estates, saw 2015 as very strong year at TWE and thinks that the reverse takeover of Matthew Clark by Conviviality "has the potential to be a real game changer in terms of the UK trading landscape." Townsend is most excited about the opportunities that lay ahead in 2016, but sees Duty as one of the toughest challenges that trade faces next year.
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Sarah Abbott MW has her fingers in many pies, including running her own events company Swirl and helping clients like the Turkish Wine Alliance promote their wines in the UK. While 2015 was a brilliant year for her, she is looking forward to 2016 and helping wine producers in countries that face huge political and economic pressures promote their wines in the UK as wine in these countries is a symbol of defiant hope. But 2016 will also have challenges and she worries about the uncertainty of the UK remaining as part of the EU.
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Miles Beale chief executive officer of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association, celebrated the 'best budget outcome for almost 20 years' in 2015. Looking ahead, Beale is gearing up to to make the case for a 2% duty cut and fairer treatment for wine in 2016.
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Andrew Maidment, the head of Wines of Argentina in the UK said 2015 was another great year with growth of 26% compared to 2014. Looking ahead though Maidment sees 2016 as year to continue to focus on the end drinker, but will be following the discount retailers next year.
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Robin Copestick of Copestick Murray looks back at Stoke City football and how healthy the UK wine trade was in 2015. Although 2015 was good- "2016 will be better still."
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The celebrated Roger Jones of Michelin-star restaurant The Harrow at Little Bedwyn had a great 2015 with sales up 20%! He
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Ayo Akintola, the managing director of Oddbins saw 2015 as a challenging, but satisfactory year. The 'manic' response of retailers to threat of discounters moving into the UK has been a challenge in 2015. But Akintola is looking forward to 2016 as he sees the opportunity to work with interesting suppliers as a 'once in a generation' opportunity.
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Hal Wilson of Cambridge Wine Merchants has had an 'awesome' and 'dynamic' 2015. He has embraced the popularity of spirits, which has helped boost his offering to over 900 SKUs. The two biggest challenges in 2016 Wilson's thinks will be to keep wine 'sexy' and combating supermarket discounting.
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Jo Wehring of Wines of South Africa looks back at a successful Cape Wine in 2015, but sees Majestic as the retailer to watch heading into 2016. She is looking foward to a new tasting in 2016 that will be hosted by WOSA called Intrepid South Africa in the autumn next year- so watch this space.
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David Cox, the chief executive of The Benevolent, the drinks charity in the UK, is proud that in 2015 the charity was able to assist 570 beneficiaries. For the trade, he saw 2015 as a challenging year where businesses need to work harder than ever to protect margins. In 2016 he most looking forward to continuing to grow the number of companies that are engaged with charity.
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In the first of our annual reviews of the year, we asked Julia Trustram Eve, the marketing director for English Wine Producers, what were some highlights of 2015 and what she thinks lies ahead for the industry. For Trustman Eve, 2015 was a busy year where English wines became increasingly more mainstream. Looking ahead she see the Budget as one of the industries biggest challenges in 2016, but a lot of opportunity as well with the International Cool Climate Symposium being hosted in the UK.
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As the iconic Port producer celebrates its 225th anniversary, seventh-generation family member George Sandeman presented a limited release of the 2000 Vintage Port in London. Anne Krebiehl MW met him to talk through the changing fortunes of Port
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Tim Heath, who has been with Cloudy Bay for 10 years, talks about continuing the legacy of one of New Zealand's most iconic brands as it celebrates its 30th anniversary.
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Ridgeview, one of the largest English sparkling wine producers in Sussex, has appointed its former bank manager, Graham Gayler as a non-executive director. Gayler, a former director at NatWest bank, was one of the few lenders to show faith in Ridgeview and the future of English wine, when he agreed to fund the fizz producer during its first years of production in the 1990s.
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