Chile wine sales toast miners' rescue

Published: 25 October, 2010

Tesco has seen Chilean wine sales spike 325% on the previous year as scenes of jubilation at the miners rescue inspired a thirst for Chilean wine in consumers.

The trend was repeated across the trade, both in independents and larger retailers.

Nick Room, Waitrose's Chilean wine buyer said: "Chilean wine was the tipple of choice as Waitrose customers celebrated the amazing rescue of 33 miners. White wine sales from the South American country were up 25% on the previous day as customers watched the unfolding drama on their TV screens."

A spokeswoman for Tesco said: "We have figures of 325% last week on Chile versus last year, partly because of some promotions that are running but still showing exceptionally strong uplift. It is great for them to have this opportunity to shine after the quake earlier in the year."

Michael Cox, European director of Wines of Chile, said he wasn't surprised to hear of the boost to Chilean wine sales. "The episode has proved that as a country, Chile knows what it's doing. As for wine sales, perhaps wine is the closest manifestation of Chile that the consumer can get involved with at the moment. I'm really quite heartened by all the positive thoughts about Chile right now," said Cox.

Independent stores were also enjoying a boom in Chilean wines. Rory Stapleton, owner of independent merchant the Jolly Vintner in Tiverton, Devon, has been running a Chilean promotion to commemorate the country's bicentennary for the past six weeks.

Stapleton, who held tastings and decorated his shop with flags and bunting, said: "People had no idea which flag it was until it was all over the TV. Over the past four weeks, Chilean wine has made up 35% of my total sales. Last Friday morning alone I sold a couple of hundred pounds worth of it. It's great being able to put an upbeat spin on Chile, before this people were still talking about the earthquake."

Discover how you can profit from Chile's natural diversity at Harpers Wine & Spirit's Chile Summit 2010 on November 22 in London. A must-attend event for anyone involved in the business of selling Chilean wine, it will include a lively mix of seminars, debates, masterclasses and educational tasting zones. Find out more at http://www.thechilesummit.co.uk/.

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