17 Mar Papro Wine Cellars and Consulting Weighs in on Increasing U.K. Sales of Canadian Table Wine
Toronto, Canada, March 17,2016-Papro Wine Cellars and Consulting (www.paprowinecellars.ca), an award-winning company specializing in wine cellar consultation and design, is weighing in on the increasing sales of Canadian table wine in the U.K.
Though Canadian wine still accounts for a miniature part of the UK wine market, its sales over the past three years indicate a rapid increase. In 2015, Canadians wine sales in the UK were just over $1.5 million; a large majority of that—approximately $1.2 million was ice wine. (Source: Saltzman, A., “Brits developing a taste for fine Canadian vintages, and not just ice wine,” CBC News, March 6, 2016; Http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadian-wine-uk-1.3474554.)
“The U.K. has its own tradition of wine drinking, so it’s not that surprising that we Canadians haven’t quite been able to penetrate as deep as we would like,” says Steve Papadimitriou, founder of Papro Wine Cellars and Consulting. “But the numbers are turning in Canada’s favour, which is why the wine industry is starting to get a bit excited about the potential to infiltrate the U.K. market, particularly with table wine.”
In the U.K., Canadian table wine sales were slightly under $35,000 in 2013. Last year, that figure jumped exponentially to nearly $170,000. Experts are also noting that it is the higher-end vintages that are breaking ground in the U.K. market rather than the lesser-quality brands.
“We’ve been producing high-quality wine for in Canada for some time now, but it takes a while to gain international recognition,” Papadimitriou continues. “Looking at these numbers, it seems it’s finally starting to get through to the international communities that Canada is able to produce high-quality wine.”
The U.K. boasts one of the top wine markets, ranked as the sixth largest in the world. Experts say the change in appreciation for Canadian wine happened when Canadian artisans stopped blending their wine with grapes from California and other regions. This change started taking place roughly 10 years ago.
“Essentially, winemakers in Canada started really taking their time to create a wine that could be appreciated for its quality. They weren’t as concerned about the volume of wine they were exporting; instead, they focused primarily on creating top-level products, and now that shift in approach is starting to pay off.”
Papro Wine Cellars and Consulting prides itself on turning ordinary spaces into extraordinary wine cellars. More information about the company’s award-winning design and wine cellar installation services can be found at www.PaproWineCellars.ca.