Taking place on the top floor of Foyles bookshop in central London, the Morrisons spring/summer wine tasting is set to the relaxing sound of a piano, played in the left-hand corner of the room.
As the vibrations hit the air, the space fills up with the trade, meandering and tasting new products soon to hit supermarket shelves.
In the middle of the event is John Morris, BWS trading director, who sits down to talk with Drinks Retailing about what’s new for the season.
The thing Morris is most excited about is the supermarket’s new range – the Block Series – which he says will be launched to the public in May.
Featuring Shiraz from Margaret River; Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough; Rioja from Badarán; Zweigelt from Austria; Godello from the Douro Superior; Chenin Blanc from Paarl; Grenache from the Barossa Valley; Saperavi from Georgia and Pinot Noir from the Dundee Hills in Oregon, the collection represents a limited-edition selection of products.
“We wanted a new way of doing limited-edition,” Morris explains. “In the past, they’ve just blended in with everything else. I think that the Block Series gives a sense of identity”.
Pointing to the colourful blocks that demarcate the range as different, Morris says that on a practical level, “The Best range is always in black and white, so this allows differentiation”.
How long will the stock last? “That’s the million-dollar question,” he laughs. “We don’t know how they will sell and so we don’t have an immense stock of any of them. In theory, there is enough for a month or two.
“We’re hoping that this will get customers to try something a bit different. There are crowd pleasers in there like the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, but there are also some very different wines too that people may not have had before.”
Trending
Moving onto the topic of trending countries and regions, Morris brings up Portugal, which features in the Block Series via Godello, grown in a high-altitude vineyard in the Douro Superior.
“Portugal continues to increase in popularity,” Morris says. “Some of the reds are the best sellers in our The Best range, which two or three years ago I never would have said.”
He also theorises that consumers are more interested in different regions from known countries, pointing to the Margaret River Shiraz as an example.
The same can be said for the styles of wine expanding. Commenting on Spain, Morris notes: “Rioja is still very popular, but people are also starting to discover varietals like Albariño, which is really growing.”
Low, No and Alternative Formats
According to Morris, low and no will also be very important for spring/summer 2025. “Low and no has always been difficult to get right, but they are getting much better.
“It works particularly well with fizz. The Nozeco Spritz, for example, has been gaining a lot of traction, and Nozeco has also just brought out a rosé which I think will tempt customers.”
Additionally, alternative formats are going to be vital going forward, something Morris stresses is especially true because of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which taxes glass heavily.
As for Morrisons’ range: “Minis are continuing to perform well, and we’ve also got some cans over there from Villa Maria and La Vieille Ferme.
“I think having some big names like that will really help customers transition.”
The same is true, Morris finishes, with the bag-in-box format. “The brands are certainly still branching out into bag-in-box and with that, the reputation of it has shifted quite a lot,” he says.
All in all, it’s a time of change for the Morrisons BWS section. It seems the supermarket is eager to experiment, whether through lesser-known wines or new ways of packaging them.
With the piano still playing faintly in the background from the seated area where we’re sat, Morris adds that “the team have done a fantastic job” and that he’s sure it will all go down well with the customers too.
