PUBLICANS hoping to boost their wine sales this year could benefit from looking to lower ABV variants.
That’s the advice from some wine firms, which have highlighted low and no alcohol wines as a potential sales driver for 2015.
On-trade wine merchant Bibendum predicted operators could “steer consumers away from tap water” by offering a lower ABV wine.
Bibendum highlighted figures released by polling firm Wine Intelligence which show 44% of UK drinkers were influenced by alcohol content in 2013, up from 32% in 2011.
The firm suggested the category could appeal to health conscious young adult drinkers.
Bibendum’s prediction came as the firm behind Echo Falls launched an alcohol-free Tisane wine. The new wine is made from fermented white grape juice, however the process does not use yeast and so alcohol does not develop.
Amy White, marketing director for Echo Falls, said that releasing a no alcohol variant of Echo Falls is “an exciting departure for the brand”.
“Our research shows one in three shoppers claiming to spend £10-£15 per month on non-alcoholic alternatives and so this is becoming an increasingly valuable area of the market,” she said.
