As premium bulk wine dominates the conversation, Lizzy O’Riordan heads to Amsterdam to learn why the trade shouldn’t neglect the entry level, alongside the latest updates on low & no bulk technology

Outside in Amsterdam, the rain slops down on to the street, cyclists skid past and members of the wine trade descend en masse on the RAI Centre, located 10 frigid minutes from Europaplein Metro station. They are here for the annual World Bulk Wine Exhibition (WBWE), now entering its 17th year and its second under the ownership of Vinexposium.

Here, tucked away from the main hall hosting 240 exhibitors, a series of both transit and alcohol experts are discussing the latest innovations in the sector.

Premium or generic

Unsurprisingly, within this, there is an ongoing conversation about premiumisation. The consensus is the same as elsewhere in the trade: premiumisation is happening fast, made even more possible by ever-improving technology in the bulk wine world.

This is true, speakers say, both on the logistical side – with developments such as anti-suction flanges on flexibags making unloading the wine more streamlined – and on the scientific side, with bottlers more confident about processing the liquid than ever.

However, alongside the talks praising the wonders of premiumisation, an alternative discussion runs parallel among the experts: not to forget about generic bulk wine. Led first by Rafael Del Rey, an independent consultant on wine markets, in the opening panel for this year’s WBWE he explains that the bulk wine industry is split into two parts, and it’s vital to remember both.

One half of the industry, Del Rey says, centres around the more expensive liquids, which are bottled in market. However, generic wines, which are often used as blending components, still make up the other half.

“Countries like Germany, Italy and France import bulk wine at relatively low prices, often to blend with their own wines,” Del Rey says.

According to him, it is important not to neglect this part of the market and to keep making good generic wines because of the big opportunity in RTDS, presently the fastest-growing category in the UK and beyond.

“This market is emerging very fast and becoming a real phenomenon, and they need a certain kind of wine,” he says, pointing to neutral wines as being perfect for the task.

Vincent Messmer, editor of the German publication Meininger Verlag, agrees, noting that these kinds of basic wines remain the most popular in the industry for blending, spritzes and RTDs. From experience, he says: “This is the only category that was always sought after by brokers last year. There were times when they wanted other categories too, but this was the one that was always sought.”

Florian Ceschi, MD of broker group Ciatti Europe, says production of entry level wines is decreasing in many European countries, such as Italy and France. However, the trade should not understate their importance.

According to Ceschi, the market needs good “neutral wine, which can be used for lots of possibilities”. If that stops being a focus, the bulk wine trade is likely to become packed with extremes. Comparing it to a doughnut, Ceschi says: “You’ll have some space for the higher end, some space for generic, and almost nothing in the middle.”

Low & no

Elsewhere at the WBWE, the other main topic of discussion is low & no bulk wine. An ever-contentious topic, when asked about the trend, one speaker jokes: “Nobody wants to drink it, but everyone wants to produce it.” Fellow panellists likewise grapple with what the influx of lower-alcohol drinks means for the sector.

Among them, Mark Satchwell, MD of Greencroft Bottling, raises the role of tax in the low & no debate. He says that alcohol duty increases in the UK have incentivised producers to create lower-abv wines. However, this hasn’t always led to a successful consumer response.

“Some wines you can reduce the abv and it won’t have a huge effect [on consumer outcomes]. But we’ve also seen cases where producers have reduced the abv and sales have really deteriorated as a result,” Satchwell comments. In some cases, he continues, this trend has been so strong that producers have re-heightened their abvs.

That’s not to say there isn’t a growing market. From an American perspective, Steve Dorfman, partner at Ciatti, says consumer demand is there. “You have to give the consumer what they want and, right now, lower-alcohol wines are certainly desired.”

Likewise, in the UK, adoption of low & no products continues among certain demographics. Nonetheless, lowering alcohol content for purely tax reasons is rarely received well.

Bulk also has its own unique issue when it comes to low & no, both Dorfman and Satchwell say: that the alcohol protects the liquid in transit. Therefore, lower-abv products can be harder to ship globally.

Speaking to Drinks Retailing, Satchwell explains the science. “The higher the alcohol, the greater its potential to act as a preservative. Yeast and bacteria don’t favour high-alcohol conditions or low pH,” he says, “but if you drop the alcohol or increase the sugar, you are effectively feeding the yeast/bacteria without the protection of alcohol.”

This means lower-alcohol products are naturally slightly more vulnerable when sitting for longer periods in transit – something the bulk trade will have to consider as demand for this type of product increases. “Maybe they should remove the alcohol on the other side of the pond, so to speak,” Dorfman suggests.

Higher participation

All in all, this year’s WBWE offered both interesting and somewhat counter-cultural perspectives from speakers who were keen to share more nuanced takes on hot-topic issues like premiumisation and low & no growth.

With participation up by 8% compared to 2024 and over 25 countries represented as exhibitors, the show continues to pitch itself as the go-to place to discover the newest developments in bulk wine.

Leaving the exhibition centre and stepping out into the briefly sun-soaked Amsterdam, it feels that this reputation is well earned.