The wine fairs are gone for a round. At the same pace as last year, but amplified: ever lower prices in the supermarket, the great vintages in decline in favor of juices without appellations from all over France, lighter in the mouth and to drink immediately, from the labels from regions not very customary to mass distribution and little known to customers, a breakthrough of white and rosé alongside the traditional red, the arrival on the shelves of Bag-in-Box (called “BIB”, cheaper than the bottle in glass) and even in cans. A store manager sums it up: “Make way for friends’ wines! ”
Another peculiarity, the wine fairs are spread this year well beyond the month of September. Géant Casino hypermarkets started their event on August 27, Carrefour Market closes the ball on October 24. This elasticity, which puts wine at the head of the rack for two months on the shelves, reflects the desire of each brand to better meet customer expectations. As every detail counts in selling, especially since the cascades of uncertainties born from the pandemic, large-scale distribution is tailor-made: offering the right bottle, at the right time, in the right place, at the right price.
The fairs that were the first to draw, at the end of August, offer wines that are still summery, not very tannic, with a beautiful tint of rosé. Those launched in mid-September highlight more structured juices, suitable for fall meals. And then the brands break down their offer according to the size and location of their stores, in order to reach the widest possible customer base. The customer who pushes a large cart in a hypermarket planted in a commercial area does not choose the same bottles – nor the same number – as the middle class with a basket under their arm in a downtown supermarket.
Abundant stocks
The wine fair mainly offers vintages of 2020 and 2019, two years of abundant and good quality harvests, with bottles that could be sold off at very attractive prices. The closures of hotels and restaurants during the first six months of the year and the slowdown in exports to countries like China and the United States increased stocks. Large-scale distribution is therefore in a good position to negotiate tank liquidations with winegrowers. This was confirmed in our Wine Fairs selection, carried out blindly, and which we return brand by brand: quality bottles, some very little known, at very low prices, are plentiful. And as the looming harvest, as we already know, will be meager, promotions in 2022 may be limited. One more reason to do good business this year!
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