On-premise sales have, and continue to be, a reliable resource for wineries to bolster income. As the UK. The ultimate goal of producers is finding their way on to more menus, meaning more sales.

Wine Business solutions released their 2023 study into on premise sales in the UK as a resource for Australian wine businesses.

The case study is valuable to the Australian industry because around 19% of wine is consumed in the On-Premise in the UK. Interestingly, 19% is the number in both the US and Australia, when those markets are operating under ‘normal’ conditions demonstrating, perhaps, the extent to which restaurant culture has become globalised.

“We keep hearing that restaurants in the UK are doing it tough. Cost of living pressure is impacting consumer spending. But you wouldn’t necessarily know that given what Brits are spending on wine in the On-Premise,” Wine Business Solutions principal Peter McAtamney said.

“According to Wine Business Solutions’ Wine On-Premise UK 2023, the average price of a bottle of wine sold in the UK On-Premise is now £44, up 9% and in line with inflation. No real surprise there.

McAtamney identified the trends in the UK as rose and sparkling wine styles, all showing signs of growth throughout the on-premise industry and mirroring trends in Australia and the US. White and red wines both saw price increases to match inflation.

“The average price of a glass of White Wine, however, is up by 18% to £8.11 and Red up 19% to £8.36 indicating where the UK On-Trade are looking to build back their margins on the back of ‘break out’ style demand,” McAtamney said.

“We saw it in sales figures in Off-Premise last year and we see it now in UK On-Premise listings, Champagne listings are up by 45% on a year ago after having dropped 10% year on year to start of 2022.

“After seemingly having come to the end of its run, Rose listings are up 55% year on year with Provence driving growth.”

Distribution for Australian products in the UK is still in flux, as the country is still the biggest international consumer of Australian wine, however the Australian industry has found a new competitor in what has historically been a very friendly market.

Somewhat mirroring the ‘shop local’ trends in Australia, British origin wines saw a significant increase of on-premise listings in the Wine Business Solutions report.

“One category outshone them all, however, and that was British Wine. Listings are up by over 100% year on year. This now means that, for the first time, WBS has enough data to make a statistically reliable assessment of British wine as a category,” McAtamney said.

“British sparkling wine is now a bigger category than Cava in the UK On-Premise, something that would have been inconceivable a decade ago and which highlights the difference between having a strategy that is driven by value over one that sells luxury. Aspiration always wins.”

An extract of the report can be downloaded by following this link or to secure a copy simple follow this link.

Are you a Daily Wine News subscriber? If not, click here to join our mailing list. It’s free!