Looking Back, Forging Ahead Q&A: Doug Wregg, Les Caves de Pyrene

By Harpers Editorial team

Published: 04 December, 2024

As the first of our end of year trade talking heads, Les Caves de Pyrene's Doug Wregg reflects on a tough ride for the trade.

What have you put in place to maximise Christmas trading and what are the early indications so far?

Ensuring that all deliveries are monitored and that communication with customers is the best it can be, we have allocated extra staff to look after customer service before Christmas.

What, for you, were the specific highs of 2024?

Despite everything, we have maintained a decent level of business. But it has been a case of running as fast as you can to stay in the same place. For us, the high was The Real Wine Fair in May – a wonderful vibe, record number of growers attending and a record number of visitors.

And the lows?

The dreadful weather; the duty rise; the lack of financial support for the hospitality industry – particularly small businesses; political instability throughout the world; more evidence of climate crisis; hearing about bad vintages in Burgundy, the Loire, and elsewhere. In short, 2024 has been a pretty horrible year.

How have the specific challenges of this year contributed to wider drinks trends?

From our stats the average price of a bottle sold has decreased (in real terms) by around 5%. With fewer wines in the lower price points it means the heavy lifting in terms of business is being done by a handful of wines. We’ve noticed a move towards wines from France, Italy and Spain (in terms of sales) and a big drop off in sales from so-called ‘New World’ countries (with some exceptions). Customers are definitely playing safe, going for well-known appellations and commercial styles, which suggests that while their tastes may not have changed, they believe that their customers will be less adventurous,

With the easement likely to end in February, how are you looking to mitigate the impact of rising duty on business?

Duty is only one element in the cocktail of upward price pressures. It will be administratively annoying because we bring out our list in April, so will have to apply the duty rise automatically when it comes into force. To customers, it will seem like two price hikes in a couple of months.

As a business, what positives are you looking forward to in 2025?

The light at the end of the tunnel (hopefully not an oncoming train). Better weather would be good – it really does help all businesses.

Quick fire questions:

Ultimate turkey pairing wine?

Vintage champagne (brut nature style) from a small low-intervention grower. Or a skin-contact Ribolla Gialla from Friuli or Slovenia

Ultimate turkey of the wine world?

I once tasted a Pinot Grigio from Veneto that was so filtered it had a ghostly blue tint and so over-sulphured that it burnt my tongue, so that I could only drink water for the rest of the evening.

Most overrated spirit?

Vodka

Most underrated spirit?

Armagnac

Chardonnay or Riesling?

Non-oaky Chardonnay

Port or sherry?

Sherry

R(h)um or Tequila?

Rum

If you were type of drink what would you be (and why)?

A single malt whisky from the Scottish islands. Can be a bit rough around the edges at first, but supposedly mellows with age.