24 Friday May 27 2022 | the times
News
A generation ago British wine was to
viniculture what Skoda was to car-
making — something cheap, unreliable
and embarrassing to own.
Just as the fortunes of the Czech
carmaker have been turned round over
the past 30 years, so has the reputation
of Britain’s vineyards.
The supermarket chain Sainsbury’s
says that sparking English wine is a
“status drink”, with almost half of Brit-
ons believing it is just as good as any-
thing the French can produce.
The retailer’s Summer Trends Report,
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PULLOUTOoh la la, British fizz becomes status symbol
2022 , says interest in domestic wine is
growing, with searches on its website
for brands such as Chapel Down and
Ellercombe up 51 per cent on three
years ago. A third of Sainsbury’s cus-
tomers consider drinking
British fizz a status
symbol, with 42 per
cent believing it is
just as respected as
champagne.
Although the
news is likely to raise a
few eyebrows in France, itwill be welcomed by the British wine in-
dustry, which harvests 2,500 hectares
of grapes a year, mostly in the south.
A bottle of Nyetimber, which is pro-
duced in West Sussex, retails at £25 to
£30 a bottle and it is served in many
upmarket restaurants, although it still
costs less than bottles of Moët or Veuve
Clicquot, which retail at about £40
and £45 respectively.
The Sainsbury’s report
also reveals that food nos-
talgia is the trend of
the moment,
with snacks,
desserts and
drinks from the1970s selling well. It says searches have
increased for classics such as Neapoli-
tan ice cream, up 218 per cent, and Bat-
tenberg cake, up 93 per cent, while piña
colada is set to be the cocktail of the
summer. Marshmallows and fairy
cakes are also becoming more popular.
Dr Morgaine Gaye, a food futurolo-
gist, said: “Studies show that during
stressful situations people seek out
familiar flavours that require less men-
tal energy to process and enjoy. Nostal-
gic snacks are a huge part of this trend.”
The report also says the British palate
is “finally embracing the heat”, with
Sainsbury’s developing hotter curries
to meet demand. It says sales of srirachasauce are up by 110 per cent since 2019.
It adds that more than a third of people
have introduced chilli into their diets in
the past two years, and nearly three
quarters say they love spicy food. Glas-
wegians are the biggest chilli lovers.
In the fruit aisles, Sainsbury’s reports
that pineapple is “the new orange”, with
sales up 17 per cent in the past three
years. Smoked food has become main-
stream, particularly among those aged
18 to 24.
Meats are less likely to be sizzling
away on outdoor grills, though. The
report says nearly four in ten people
believe that vegetarian barbecues are
the way to go.Andrew Ellson
Consumer Affairs Correspondent
tWeb searches for Battenberg cake
at Sainsbury’s rose by 93 per cent