Looking Back, Forging Ahead Q&A: Rupert Pritchett, Taurus Wines

By Harpers Editorial

Published: 28 December, 2022

Following another turbulent year for the drinks trade, Rupert Pritchett, MD of Taurus Wines, reflects on the highs and lows of 2022, plus the hopes and plans for the business in the year ahead

How has business been for you across 2022 when compared with 2019?

Chalk and cheese – our 2022 takings will be up by over a third on 2019. Though both years have had their challenges (2019 was beleaguered by Brexit and 2022 has seen the cost-of-living crisis) we’re still riding the post-Covid peak and, luckily, we seem to have retained many of the customers we gained in lockdown. Some of those were Wine Society refugees, startled out of their habit by the Wine Soc’s sudden closure in lockdown, or disillusioned Majestic punters driven away by outstandingly poor service levels during the pandemic. Both sets seem to have discovered that we are a more enjoyable retail experience, which is a good feeling.

What, for you, were the specific highs of 2022?

A lettuce outperforming our PM aside, we’ve had three members of staff pass the WSET exams, which is something I’m always hugely proud of and really encourage. We also had a team visit to Hattingley Valley, where a long-standing member of the Taurus Wines crew, and our favourite roving Master of Wine, Rob MacCulloch is now head winemaker… and clearly in his happy place!

And the lows?

September brought a special sadness with it as we said goodbye to Her Majesty, especially as it gave us cause to remember the honour we had in supplying the wines to her barge for the jubilee back in 2012.

The energy crisis has been something we really didn’t need, and the bill for air-con and heating our cavernous 400-year-old barn has been eye-watering. Beyond that, though, it’s the constant price rises from suppliers. It’s not so bad for the retail side, but our trade price list used to involve an annual face-to-face meeting with each account with some minor tweaks midyear, which felt human and meant meetings seemed purposeful. Weekly, or indeed daily, cost price rises mean we now send out a monthly trade email with an updated price list attached. This not only feels very impersonal, but also takes up significantly more staff time.

More specifically, how has the cost-of-living crisis impacted and what as a business have you done to help mitigate the effects for you and your customers?

Luckily, being based in the Surrey Hills, our customers are generally a wealthy bunch, protected from the true cost of living by their London salaries and bonuses. If I hear one more time, though, how much it now costs to run an Aga…

More seriously, the impact has been mainly on staff members, so we have increased all salaries by at least 12.5%, to match inflation, on top of any individual promotions. Moving our storage to a new-build, well-insulated warehouse on an innovation park, with its own solar farm/biodigester has helped with a lot of our own bills, too, as it means power and heating comes to less than £85 a month on a 3,550sq ft building! I just wish the shop itself was as efficient!

How much of a concern is the proposed change to the duty regime?

Whilst we import a few wines directly, it is the shipping companies who do all the import paperwork, so the stock effectively arrives duty paid. This means it’s primarily their headache. We mainly use Freight Transport, who have coped with Brexit brilliantly, so I am sure they will be up to this challenge. It will obviously take them, and all shippers, more time and I have no doubt they will pass the administrative cost on, which is fair enough. We will then pass it on down the line to the end consumer… and since in our neck of the woods, the ‘end consumer’ is most likely a constituent of our new chancellor, Jeremy Hunt MP, I’m sure he’ll be receiving a few letters on the matter! I’m also not looking forward to the paperwork for landed en primeur wines, which will be pretty grim.

In terms of the product itself and drinking occasions, which current trends in the drinks world would you predict to continue to grow and why?

I’ve seen fads come and go and I’d put natural wines in that category, with best case scenario for them remaining as a niche interest. I suspect, however, that veganism is here to stay. Vegans have a disproportionate effect on the market – I have lost count of the number of customers who want all vegan-registered wines for an occasion, as a single family member is a vegan and they don’t want to have to serve different wines. This could be for something as small as a family Sunday lunch, to whole weddings of 200+ people.

READ MORE: Looking Back, Forging Ahead Q&A: Michael Saunders, Bibendum Wine

Equally, the drive towards environmentally friendly products seems to be growing momentum again. I saw this last in 2007 when a couple of our major trade customers (a wedding venue and a bar) went fully organic. However, that quickly went out of the window in 2008 when the recession meant they were scrambling for price-conscious customers. This time around there is more momentum for change due to the huge spotlight on climate change and we’re seeing new technology and better product design giving us lighter-weight packaging and alternative formats that can still appear premium.

As a business, what goals have you set for 2023 and how do you expect to achieve them?

We’re signing up to the Harpers Sustainability Charter after we have had a chance to do an environmental audit. We’re looking into getting B-Corps status too and would love to achieve that in 2023.

As for our business itself, our aim in 2023 is to convert a room of our warehouse into dedicated fine wine storage, with it monitored at 12C – 14C and 80% humidity year-round. Doing that means we can offer cellaring facilities to our customers. The target market for this will be existing customers living within a 10-mile radius, who will be able to have their fine wine stock delivered by one of our vans within 24 hours – that’s a lot quicker than getting it from a bond, or one of our larger competitors.

In terms of personal development, all team members will be encouraged towards the next level of WSET to the one that they have completed this year.

More generally, in terms of business, how do you predict the drinks landscape will look this time next year?

Sadly, heavily reduced. After the 2008 recession, the First Quench and Oddbins closures meant that there was a sudden explosion of new indies on the scene as managers were able to buy them out of administration. This obviously can’t happen this time.

In terms of on-trade, we have already seen closures: both pizzerias we supplied have shut as the costs of keeping the ovens on and staffing were proving unsustainable. I think this sort of thing will continue over the next couple of years.

Conversely, though, I’ve also noticed an increase in fine wine sales, so I wonder if there might be a shift in the independent sector towards offering £100+ bottles, which is a slice of the market not encroached into by supermarkets and multiples.

Quick fire questions:

Champagne or English sparkling?

A good grower’s Blancs de Blancs Champagne by just a smidge.

Cocktail or straight spirit?

Cocktail – especially a Surrey Hills Negroni made from entirely local ingredients. It takes some beating.

Riesling or Chardonnay?

I love both, but sales of Chardonnay actually pays the bills which tips the balance.

Pinot Noir or Bordeaux-style blend?

Pinot Noir if you’re buying.

Michelin-starred or relaxed bistro?

Relaxed bistro.

Desert island tipple?