British consumers still confused over wine, survey finds

Even in a country like England, that is described by many as the centre of the wine trade, wine consumers are still baffled and confused by wine according to a recent survey by SPAR supermarkets.

England has been at the forefront of wine education since the 1950s with its globally-recognised Wine & Spirit Education Trust certificates and diplomas, not to mention its famed Master of Wine Institute. That, together with iconic wine publications like Decanter and Wine Magazine, has helped spread the word to English-speaking wine lovers throughout the world for decades. But despite all that, this recent SPAR survey revealed that seven out of 10 people in the UK are still anxious about their lack of wine knowledge. Over half said their lack of knowledge meant they leave wine related decisions to someone else or they simply choose a brand name they recognise in an effort to avoid being embarrassed. The top six most commonly -elieved wine myths were: Sixty-five per cent thought Chablis is made up of different grapes to Chardonnay, 54 per cent thought that the fruit used to describe a wine on its label went into making it while 48 per cent thought that water is added to grapes to make wine.

Forty-three per cent were under the impression that the older the vintage on a bottle the better the wine is. Thirty-five per cent thought a wine bottled with a cork is better quality than a wine with a screw top and 32 per cent believed that Bordeaux, Chablis, Champagne, Sherry and Port are grape varieties.