You can register for Jeroboams annual tasting on September 7 in London that takes place between 10.30am and 5.30pm here.
Peter Mitchell MW
Can you tell us about your upcoming tasting in terms of what you are hoping to offer buyers to taste?
Peter Mitchell MW: We are showing over 300 wines from just under 100 producers with the vast majority of them exclusive agency wines. There will be wines from around the world on show, with a particularly strong line-up from Italy reflecting our specialism in this area. Alongside a collection of classic wines from France and Spain are some more esoteric offerings, whilst long term New World agencies such as Hunter’s, Pierro and Moss Wood are joined by some more recent additions from South Africa, New Zealand, South America and some exciting new wave Californian wines.
There are a number of importer tastings taking place in September how do you hope yours can stand out?
PM: Most of the wines we offer are from smaller producers who focus on sustainability and quality and by nature of their production size they are not widely distributed. For anyone looking for new discoveries and for wines with personality and a real story that are not on every list or shelf, this is the tasting to come to.
Lucie Parker
Is this an opportunity for Jeroboams to show the changes that have taken place in terms of how you operate/ and your new wholesale division?
Lucie Parker: This tasting showcases our agency producers and that is a message we want to get across – the wines we sell are exclusively ours, high quality, sourced by our expert buying team and offer that point of difference. Our wholesale division has actually existed since 1934! What’s new is that whilst the Layton’s name will always be a part of our history, we now trade under the Jeroboams name and for our trade customers, we’re known as Jeroboams Trade.
Any particular tasting and producer highlights in terms of new producers?
PM: Domaine Philippe & Sylvain Ravier from Savoie who are making precise, characterful wines that have real freshness. Altavins from Terra Alta, specialising in high altitude Garnacha wines that are incredible value. Notas Frutales de Albariño who are making some of the best Rias Baixas wines we have seen. Villa della Torre, a new project from Marilisa Allegrini in Valpolicella and Lugana emphasising elegance over power. Podere Le Ripi – not a new producer, but I can’t not mention them as they are making some of the best wines in Montalcino today.
LP: Not that new to the portfolio but new to the scene, we are big fans of Kelly Washington Wines from New Zealand – an interesting philosophy making brilliant wines. Port Phillip Estate are new to the UK and the portfolio, bringing lovely cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Mornington Peninsula. Our new Burgundy producers Domaine Derey and Piguet Girardin are worth looking out for too.. especially with the shortages ahead in Burgundy!
Do you have any masterclasses or specialist tastings that buyers can get involved in?
PM: Not on this occasion. We tend to do masterclasses at smaller more focussed events rather than at the portfolio tasting.
How many producers do you have coming over to take part who buyers will have a chance to meet?
PM: We are expecting around 40 producers to be there pouring their wines
Who are you hoping to attract in terms of buyers/ visitors?
LP: This is such a key event and such a great opportunity to taste the range and meet the face behind the wines, so we’re hoping as many as possible of our current customers can make it along with newer customers and prospects who are perhaps still working out what Jeroboams is all about. Here’s a chance to meet the team, the producers and taste a whole host of wines. We work with airlines, caterers, corporates, Michelin-starred restaurants, neighbourhood pubs and brasseries and indie/online merchants so we should have a broad representation of the trade present!
How are you seeing the trade at the moment in terms of the main opportunities and strong growth areas for wines/ regions/ styles?
LP: We’re definitely seeing the impact of volume and price pressure from Champagne with some people choosing to list crémant as their quality French sparkling house pour and lots of new customers coming to us specifically for Champagne. On the flip side, we’re seeing people trade up in Prosecco to more premium styles so it looks like interest in Prosecco is still going strong. France and Italy still drive the majority of our sales and both countries have plenty of new wines and styles to choose from and Italy is one of our more specialist areas so it will be interesting to see how we can develop that.
What are the biggest challenges you are facing through the supply chain?
PM: The unpredictability of lead times has undoubtedly been the biggest challenge. Shipping times have gone up owing to less available boat and truck capacity, especially from the USA and more recently New Zealand, but also in Europe. Producers have also struggled with dry goods, mostly cardboard and glass, to enable them to prepare orders in a timely fashion. The only solution that has enabled us to have next to no out-of-stocks, has been to place orders much earlier and carry higher levels of stock, however this presents its own costs and challenges. Shipping rates have gone up, which clearly has a greater effect at the lower price points, and we are still seeing container freight rates climbing from some countries. Warehouses have had staffing issues related to both Covid and Brexit and that has made getting goods in and out more of a challenge.
What are you seeing in terms of price points that are most in demand and any signs of the cost of living pressures on what buyers are looking for?
LP: The world has seen so much disruption over the last two years that people seem to so far be taking everything in their stride regarding cost pressures and it’s clear that consumers want quality so a race to the bottom on cost isn’t going to help – plus because everybody is experiencing the same pressures, there are cost thresholds that can’t be crossed. A focus on providing a quality experience that’s worth the spend is what our trade buyers are focused on.
Are you having to put steps in place to prepare for a potentially very difficult winter ahead in terms of rising costs and impact on trade and sales/ price points?
PM: None of us knows what the effect on demand will be, so all we can do is constantly monitor throughput and be ready to react where necessary. In terms of managing costs, we have many long-term relationships with our suppliers and freight forwarders and have continued to have honest conversations with them about what cost rises are bearable and which ones will make the product unviable. The senior management meet regularly solely to review costs across the business. Increases in dry goods and shipping have a much greater effect at the bottom end of the market, however this segment has never been important to our business, so is less of a problem for us from that perspective. The buying team are constantly reviewing our range and looking at potential new suppliers if required to maintain price points.
What else can we expect from Jeroboams in the months ahead in terms of new wines/ tastings/ events/ for buyers to look out for?
PM: In the current climate we are not looking to carry out revolutionary range changes, although if the right opportunity comes along we are always open to agencies that fit with our business. I hope by early next year we will have more of an idea of which way the wind is blowing and we will look to shape and improve our offering further. We ran our first Barolo release tasting this year and it was well received and a great success, so we will be running a bigger and better version early in 2023, with a wider range of wines and producers to showcase the fabulous 2019 vintage.
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You can register for Jeroboams annual tasting on September 7 in London that takes place between 10.30am and 5.30pm here.
