Enotria 'raises head above parapet' in 2014

By Gemma McKenna

Published: 27 February, 2014

Enotria is preparing to "raise it head above the parapet" in 2014, as it launches a new corporate identity, expands its sales force and increases its market insights.

Following the company's London tasting earlier this week, chief executive Alison Levett told Harpers.co.uk it had been its most successful to date.

The tasting has morphed into a two-day event, with the first day offering a chance for producers to meet the expanding sales force, and staff to taste through the portfolio. It has also introduced a briefing on the UK market and Enotria's vision and plans for its producers. "Combining these two things we felt very engaged and aligned and ready to hit the ground running at the tasting on day two," Levett said.

Enotria welcomed 103 producers with 750 wines on show, and introducing new wines was one of the themes of the day.

This year the firm opted to showcase its portfolio at London's Saatchi gallery, and 'curated' four galleries themed around sparkling wines, discovery wines, its Italian heritage and boutique and artisanal producers.

"2013 was a very successful year - we grew our business in all our key customer channels both in the on and off-trade and Great Western Wine down in Bath. On the back of that our investors have been very supportive and we've taken the opportunity, while the business is in good healt,h to invest in new resources. We've hired 10 new sales people into our on-trade sales force that are spread across the country although with a focus in London and the south east, as well as a couple more in the off-trade and several in support roles. We've invested more in head count."

The company has also invested in a whole new company identity, which Levett said is "proving to be a real call to arms". "It's the start of us raising our heads above the parapet more than we did historically," she added.

It will be doing tastings in June and September too, although not quite on the Saatchi scale, and is attending London Wine Fair. Levett said: "There was a big effort on the part of the organisers to start afresh and we decided to go back rather than sit on the sidelines and speculate.

Identifying trends for the year ahead, Levett said Prosecco still has a long way to run, while "Cava has the potential to reinvent itself". While Pinot Grigio is "still enormously popular" Levett is seeing more of a move towards aromatic whites, for more wine-savvy consumers who want something different but are still on safe ground.

She singled out serving sizes and different formats as a "terrific way to add interest to the category".

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