Sparkling and sustainability pave the way at annual Liberty tasting

By Andrew Catchpole

Published: 22 January, 2025

Sparkling wines and sustainability are at the forefront of Liberty Wines push into the challenging 2025 market in the UK, with Spain also an expected driver of sales.

Speaking to Harpers at Liberty’s Annual Portfolio Tasting at London’s Kia Oval, CEO Tom Platt (pictured) highlighted how recent agency additions, including the high profile and highly sustainable Ferrari Trento sparkling wines, would help the business to continue to tap into growth areas in an otherwise flat wine market.

“It is very challenging, wine is in decline, it’s even flat in the premium on-trade, so there is an incredible fight for that space,” said Platt. “Ferrari fits incredibly well with what we are doing, with our carbon neutral plus sustainable credentials and the fact that sparkling wines are still doing well.”

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Platt also highlighted an ongoing focus on Spain, with Liberty having started working with Telmo Rodriguez’ Lanzaga project in Rioja and his Pegaso project in Gredos over the past year, plus the likes of Pepe Raventos, along with new wines from Casa Castillo (Jumilla), Celler del Roure (Valencia) and Vina Mayor (Ribera del Duero), with Malaga also in its sights.

On the challenges currently facing the market and especially the on-trade, Platt remained upbeat, acknowledging that while “many people are finding it very difficult, it’s not all gloom and doom for those selling quality wines”.

He added: “The people I see doing best are those that are adapting, and utilising us for the education and training. Everyone has the cost pressures, [challenges] that are not being made any easier. But that is what is great about today, 250 producers, over 1,000 people though the door already by 2.30pm, and people are talking about wines they are going to sell, how to get their list right.

“[Accounts] don’t want to talk about EPR and duty anymore, that’s completely reductive. It doesn’t do anything to benefit or aid productivity in an already tough environment. Those that we are working best with is where it’s a shared solution and you’re coming up with ways to tackle whatever the challenge is.”

For Platt and the Liberty team, part of that translates as tapping into the buzz surrounding certain wines and their story, with ‘mountain’ wines, such as the aforementioned Gredos and Trento additions, being good examples of how to generate interest and engagement.

Beyond that, Platt argued, the trade needs to continue to hone how it communicates its offer, while being more proactive when it comes to tailoring a solution that is right for the specific needs of a given hospitality venue.

“There is no ‘one-size fits all-solution’, and that is the bit we really need to keep talking about as a wine industry; how wine is consumed, how it’s drunk with food, the conversation that goes with it – there are great wines to be sold, it’s just finding the right customer,” he concluded.

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