Tesco showcased over 130 wines at the Hospital Club in Covent Garden at its autumn retail tasting this week.
Tesco showcased over 130 wines at the Hospital Club in Covent Garden at its autumn retail tasting this week.
This was the first time that Tesco has stepped back into the press tasting arena for 12 months, having decided to eschew the traditional spring tastings earlier this year.
With a clear message about simplicity and value, the UK's leading retailer put a strong focus on their re-launched own brand range.
Following the much publicised move away from half-price offers to straightforward value pricing, the buying and product development team have been focused on re-structuring their own brand offer.
Tesco's Simply and Vineyards brands have been culled, to remove confusion and misinterpretation.
The focus is now firmly on Tesco own brand, and the flagship Finest range, with 118 own brand wines in total.
In a clear response to the challenge of the discounters, Tesco have introduced a range of sub £5 wines, including an Australian Cabernet Shiraz at £3.95, and the re-blended Tesco Cotes de Gascogne blanc at £4.50.
Price points have been repositioned across the range, from the sub £4 entry level to the great value Tim Adams Clare Valley Riesling at £9.
New additions to the Finest range include an English sparkling wine, produced by Hush Heath, at £17.50, a £6 Passerina Terre di Chieti, and a trio of Limestone Coast wines, also retailing at £6, with a new Finest Montagne Saint Emilion, sitting at £8.
"We've done a huge amount of work on blends and tweaking the wine styles," said Charlotte Lemoine, product development manager.
"I'm particularly excited about what we've done in France. But this extends right across the portfolio - the wines may look the same, the suppliers are largely the same, but we've done lots in terms of tweaking and amending the blends, to get what we think is right for our customers."
A new range of by the case wines for online purchase has also been introduced under the guiding eye of Nick Juby, including Chateau Camplazens Maximus 2013.
Tesco report a 2.9% increase in sales of own brand since the June re-launch.