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M&S tasting: Fresh additions show retailer keeping modern edge

Belinda Kleinig, winemaker at M&S, reflected on the historic supermarket’s wine curation ethos: “Innovation is one of our pillars at M&S. We are always looking to bring in new things.”

Kleinig forms part of an M&S team of two winemakers (alongside Sue Daniels) and five buyers. The team has sought to satiate an interest in lighter, lower alcohol styles, including the introduction of their Koha Light Red at 9.5% abv.

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“There seems to be a demand from people for lighter styles. Koha Light Red is a new wine that we do from Giesen in New Zealand, and we specifically have engineered the wine to take a little bit of alcohol out to make it a lighter, more refreshing drink”, Klenig commented. “I'm really proud of this because when you taste it, it's really intense.”

The 100% Merlot’s lower abv is achieved by separating a portion of the red wine blend and dealcoholising this portion using spinning cone technology. This liquid is subsequently blended back into the main wine. M&S already stock Koha’s 9.5% Sauvignon Blanc which uses the same tech to achieve its lower percentage – the wine still retains its aroma, as well as an enjoyable long citrus finish.

Punchier red wine styles may not be in vogue amongst wine geeks at present, but there is still a great appetite for them amongst the wider public. M&S have doubled down on the popular style with the introduction of their Little Joey’s Big Red produced in South Australia.

Klenig describes: “It is a big red, with 13.5% alcohol, more sugar and a bit like a Passimento style wine. There's so much demand for them amongst consumers.”

M&S have also sought to be forward thinking in their approach to the social and economic side of wine, as Klenig’s fellow winemaker Daniels explained to me. New to its range is the M&S Meadowlands Fairtrade Chenin Blanc, produced by Meadowlands winery, with its onboarding led by Daniels.

The estate is one of the first black-owned wine farms in South Africa, being majority owned by its workers and supporting 50 families forming a farming community of 250 people. The name of the winery itself comes from a famed anti-apartheid song. The coastal region wine is a fresh expression of the French grape that has found its best expression in South Africa.

Their new Koopmanskloof Fairtrade Pinotage is produced by another black-owned winery in Stellenbosch. MD at Koopmanskloof, Rydal Jeftha, has long championed inclusivity and economic parity, the director having launched the world’s first ever fair-trade wine in 2005 and each of the estate’s permanent employees is a co-owner.

Other additions to the M&S range are drawn from a diversity of regions in both established and emerging wine nations.

Klenig explained how the team seeks out its new SKUs by not focusing purely on trends: “I think each region has its heyday, but you can find value in all regions around the world these days.”

France’s Alsace is one such region. Two new wines include a Crémant d’Alsace and a 100% Gewurztraminer, the latter having well balanced acidity and fruit with a pleasant palate of melon. Value is also to be found in satellites to well-known appellations, with a £12 Sauvingon Blanc from Coteaux du Ginnois showcasing a style similar to its more famous Loire neighbours of Sancerre and Poulliy-Fumé.

A Romanian Feteasca Regala wine also now finds a home in the M&S family, produced by an Aussie-Spanish winemaking team of Hartley Smithers and Nora Iriate. An unfamiliar region to many consumers its reasonable price (£7.50) and enjoyable peach notes has the potential to attract new fans.

A favourite wine of the day was not new to the M&S range but a worthwhile mention. Lyme Bay’s Bacchus was quintessentially aromatic with a long grapefruit finish, one of a number of English wines the retailer continues to promote.

• South Africa
• tasting
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• fair trade