wine grape producers’ water resources were cut by up to 60% and they could not fully meet their vines’ water demands.


• Earthquakes in New Zealand (November 16) resulted in millions of litres of wine lost and estimates that up to a fifth of storage vats were damaged.


The list goes on. Combined, these unfavourable conditions saw the 2017 vintage at the lowest level of production since 1961, down 16% on 2016, resulting in an estimated 3 billion bottles less wine available to buy or source.


Europe saw its smallest harvest in decades, down by more than 20% from 18.2 billion litres in 2013/2014 to 14.5 billion this year. And, while volumes increased in parts of South America compared to the low levels of 2016, Chile’s remained low, and was down 6% on 2016.


We’re facing a global wine shortage of 8%, the biggest since 1991. And, when a commodity is in demand, the price increases. This unfortunately means the price of the glass of wine in your hand will increase – but this isn’t the fault of your bar manager, nor is this the fault of the wine importer (like us), or even the winemaker. It’s just a case of circumstance beyond anyone’s control.


And, it’s not just wine. At the start of the year, two of the UK’s biggest brewers (AB InBeb and Molson Coors) announced they were putting prices up 2.3% and 2.4% respectively.


The winners


But, there are some winners in this tale of woe, namely Eastern Europe. Countries such as Moldova, Romania and Bulgaria may not be front of mind when it comes to wine producing, but in fact they have a rich heritage of viticulture.


For example, the history of Moldova’s wine dates back to 3000 BC with the first vines found 700BC. As part of the Russian Empire, Moldova’s wine making flourished when the country supplied wine to the Russian Imperial family and indeed most of Europe during the phylloxera epidemic.


As the USSR was established, Moldova became the largest supplier of wine to the Soviet Union - at one time every second bottle of wine consumed in the USSR was from Moldova! However, following Moldova’s independence in August 1991, the country had to reinvent


its wine culture. Thankfully the country is now, rightfully, re-gaining its place on the global wine map. With 67 million bottles of wine exported annually to places such as Poland, Russia and United States, Moldova is fast becoming the new ‘in vogue’ wine producing region.


We work with wineries from Moldova’s Central zone known as the ‘Codru’ region where 60% of the country’s vineyards are found. The forests, hills and rolling countryside typical of this region protect the vineyards from winter frosts and dry summer winds. There is also a famous microclimate zone in this region - the Romanesti – which produces the best white and sparkling wines.


Tips – Try something new


Its unfortunately inevitable that the price of your favourite tipple is going to rise, but the smart drinker will see this as a great opportunity to try something new. Whether that’s a different style of wine or merely switching to a new wine region, there’s plenty of options.


Over the last three years, Moldovan Pinot Grigio has become one of our best sellers! We took the strategic approach to change our supplier which meant not only did we maintain the same price of wine, but we found the wine was a better quality. Great result all round!


We’ve also changed our Malbec from the traditional Argentinian wineries to new Chilean partners – same great wine, same great price. And we have an excellent non-Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.


Trying new wines is fun. Wine should be fun. There’s no rules to how you drink it, where you drink it or what you should enjoy – so jump in with two feet and take a chance on something different.


For more information about Lanchester Wines, please visit:


www.lanchesterwines.co.uk WWW.VENUE-INSIGHT.COM FEBRUARY 2018 13


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