Wines of Argentina plans weekend-long celebration of World Malbec day

By Erin Smith

Published: 14 April, 2016

World Malbec Day, which is on 17 April 2016, will be celebrated across the globe and Wines of Argentina has lined up a number of consumer and trade events to help celebrate Argentina's favourite varietal.

Wines of Argentina UK will be hosting a pop-up bar for consumers in London's famous Camden market as part of the Malbec Day celebration this weekend 16-17, April that will be open from 12pm - 9pm both days. There will be over 80 wines available by the glass or by the bottle. In addition Wines of Argentina UK has partnered with Honest Burger, which will be opposite the pop-up bar to serve a limited edition chimichurri and chorizo burger called the Cambalache.

According to Andrew Maidment, the head of Wines of Argentina UK, there are several reasons to celebrate World Malbec Day and a big reason to raise a glass is its growing popularity in the UK. "Wines from Argentina and Malbec are just booming in the UK. Argentina wines are up 41% in the UK for first quarter statistics for 2016 compared to last year according to Nielsen's most recent figures. Of that figure, about 50% of the wine is a Malbec," he said.

Despite the enormous growth Malbec has had in the UK market over the past two years, Maidment still sees a lot of opportunity for the grape variety and for other Argentine wines in the UK.

Maidment said: "I think we still have a enormous amount of potential. There is no reason we can,not keep growing. We still have a small amount of the market share in the UK. If you look at New Zealand they have three times the amount of market share in the UK than we do and it is all based on a single grape variety, Sauvignon Blanc. We still have a long way to go."

Wines of Argentina also sent out POS materials across the UK to every independent merchant so they can make the most of their Malbec offering on the day. They have also partnered with several retailers including, Tesco, ASDA, Majestic, Wine Rack and the Co-operative to create awareness and drive sales.

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