David Ray, director of bars at The Ivy Collection
Tell us about your wine range and why you wanted to create a partnership of this type?
We have 18 tailored wine lists to suit the varying brands, price points and demographics across The Ivy Collection. The smallest list features 85 wines, while the largest includes around 150.
The Ivy Collection wanted to work with MDCV UK to make a classic but also approachable English sparkling cuvée that would fit seamlessly with its overall offer and appeal
At The Ivy Brasserie, it’s a relatable, traditional selection with an Old World focus, whereas at The Ivy Asia, it’s curated around styles that pair well with spicier, richer dishes.
Did you know what you wanted to create with your own cuvée?
We aimed to create an easy-drinking, approachable cuvée that aligns with what our guests expect. As we feature it prominently in marketing materials and promotional offers, it’s important to maintain a classic style.
Why did you choose to work with MDCV UK vs another potential supplier?
Members of our executive team visited Silverhand Estate to tour the winery and meet the team. Our two businesses share many of the same values. Silverhand’s focus on quality and value aligns closely with how we position The Ivy, creating a natural synergy between us.
As The Ivy is a British take on a classic French Brasserie, it’s important to us to we work with local producers wherever possible. Including a British cuvée makes perfect sense.
How did you decide on what style of cuvée to make? And how was it made?
We worked with Silverhand’s Silver Reign blend which is a classic mix of Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay. As a point of difference, a touch of Bacchus is included in the dosage. To ensure strong menu positioning and offer value to our guests, the wine was produced using the Charmat method.
We wanted the final cuvée to be priced between our entry-level sparkling Prosecco and our house Champagne. It’s less sweet and more citrus-forward and fresh than Prosecco but without the Champagne price tag.
How did you introduce the cuvée to the restaurant - by the glass or bottle or both?
The Ivy introduced the cuvée by the glass and bottle last autumn and it is now proving to be a success with its customers
We launched the cuvée across both The Ivy and Ivy Asia brands in autumn 2024, offering it by the glass and by the bottle. It was also featured as part of our Seasonal Taste of Autumn set menu.
Sales started off a little slowly, but as our partnership with MDCV strengthened and we placed our name on the bottle, guests’ confidence grew and the category has since grown significantly. Restaurant sales are now performing well. It’s performed exactly as we’d hoped, slightly exceeding our original forecasts.
Has it been introduced to all your restaurants or a select number?
The cuvée has been introduced to our two core restaurant brands - 44 Ivy Brasseries and eight Ivy Asia locations – each featuring its own bespoke label design.
You are now looking to introduce a rosé cuvée - what do you hope to achieve with this?
The Ivy rosé cuvée is now in production and will be on our summer wine list in June. It’s a sparkling rosé, and something we’ve been discussing internally for quite some time. I’m pleased that MDCV has been able to meet the bottling schedule. For summer, we’ll be switching our by-the-glass pour to the rosé.
How have you made the wine and decided on the blend?
We followed the same approach as with the original cuvée, working closely with the team to ensure consistency in style and quality.
How is it going to be introduced to the restaurants?
It will replace the by-the-glass offering of the cuvée on the summer listing and will be promoted through our marketing messages and offers.
Any plans for other cuvées?
Not at the moment, I don’t think the volume is there to offer a BDB or a vintage right now.
What other plans do you have for the range and new opportunities?
We already have a Provence rosé across the group and are looking to add a few more still wines later this year through a range of producer partnerships.
What have you learnt the most from MDCV UK partnership and what works in an effective partnership?
The Ivy Collection's David Ray says the partnership with MDCV UK has worked well because they both share the same values and commitment to promote English wines
We’ve learned that partnerships need to be aligned with a shared vision. We fully understand what Silverhand Estate aims to achieve in the English wine category, so we’re a great fit for one another.
We’re very happy to champion the best of British producers and offer our guests a fantastic value product. With everything going on in the world right now, it makes perfect sense.
What are the main trends you are seeing from your wine list in terms of what is selling and the growth countries: regions and styles?
With so many different lists across various locations, we see a huge range of sales. London vs regional, Brasserie vs Asia vs Harry’s, and then differences between Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh etc.
As a very top-line view, we’re seeing reduced consumption per guest, which I think is driven partially by a health and partially by financial factors. Without getting into politics, the current lack of certainty has led to week-to-week fluctuations in sales.
There has been overall growth in more affordable wines. As for the mix itself, we are a very celebratory restaurant environment, so our sparkling wine category is a major driver of sales. Additionally, all wines by the glass have seen increased volume, as we’re seeing a reduction in bottle sales and growth in glass sales.
How has your wine range adapted and grown over the last few years?
It’s difficult to answer, as we’ve changed suppliers five times since March 2023. We tend to have one exclusive still wine supplier, so each change has involved a full list update. Seeing trends over the past two years has been challenging due to this.
Henry Boyes, sales director for MDCV
Why did you want to work with The Ivy Collection in particular on this project - what is it about the group that you fitted neatly with MDCV UK?
The Ivy Collection is such a respected and much-loved group of restaurants that it was the perfect partner for us to work with on this project. It is also renowned for its quality of offer and it has a great front-of-house team so we were really confident the combination of our wines with its service would delight its guests.
Being a premium group with a large number of sites that are spread geographically around the country also meant it is brilliantly placed to help us on our own mission to get UK consumers drinking locally, sustainably, and of course English.
How did you both agree and come up with the cuvée you think would work for The Ivy?
MDCV UK welcomed The Ivy Collection team to its Silverhand Estate in Kent to work on the exclusive blend together
Freshness was a key part of the brief. So was an accessible style. We all felt that this was what would be most enjoyed by The Ivy’s guests. We also wanted to draw on our expertise of creating wines utilising the classic ‘Champagne varietals’ of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Meunier which gives the wine depth and an elegance to it.
We also wanted to utilise some Bacchus in the blend so that the wine had a lovely floral touch, reminiscent of an English country garden. We wanted a wine that was not as sweet and high in residual sugar as many proseccos on the market, but was slightly softer than a Brut traditional method wine. We were all aligned on this and are delighted with the final blend. So far this seems to be mirrored by the guests of The Ivy who are enjoying it.
What was the process from your side in terms of winemaking and blending to get the cuvée right?
Henry Boyes says the key to MDCV UK's partnership with The Ivy Collection has been its ability to listen, adapt and be flexible to its needs and the fact they are both aligned to the same vision
The objective for all of us was to make a wine that was not only delicious to drink on its own, but also able to match a large variety of dishes on The Ivy’s menu, and to offer their guests an affordable luxury – making a wine from the Charmat method of production was an obvious route for us to take. It really was a no-brainer.
Not only does this approach align with our own, and The Ivy Collection’s, values of making and selling a wine that is as sustainably produced as possible but it also allowed it to sell it in their restaurants at a price point that meant it was an easy choice to try, especially for its guests who might ordinarily just default to a Prosecco or something not quite as interesting.
It was also a good opportunity to offer something to people who want to experiment with their drinks choice but don’t want to take a risk on something more expensive that they might not end up enjoying. I think this has been a key part of its success to date. We also wanted the wine to reflect the personality of the restaurants which are lively, fun, often celebratory, and always enjoyable.
What have you most learned from working with the Ivy in terms of what you have to prioritise and get right with partnerships like this?
I think the key observation is around having a clear and shared vision of what we are looking to achieve and to keep that as a focus for the project. As I mentioned before, The Ivy Collection and MDCV UK were totally aligned in what we wanted to deliver for us, for them, and most importantly for their guests.
We also had to be incredibly nimble and reactive to be able to meet the increasing volumes and I am delighted that we have been able to do this. I think the fact that we are rolling out a new rosé version is testament to how well this has worked and how much their guests have engaged with the product, as well as how well the partnership approach has positively impacted it.
It has been, and continues to be, a brilliant partnership – we love it.
* You can find out more about The Ivy Collection at its website here.
* You can find our more about MDCV UK at its website here.
* MDCV UK is a partner to The Buyer.
