Emma Fox, CEO of Berry Bros. & Rudd doesn't believe the soft drink hype. Photo: Jeff Gilbert
Beverage supplier King's boss says she doesn't stock non-alcoholic wines because they don't taste good enough.
Despite the boom in supermarket sales of soft drinks, Emma Fox, CEO of Berry Bros. & Rudd, the UK's oldest wine and spirits retailer, says he doesn't believe the hype.
«At the moment I haven't seen any non-alcoholic wine that I would like to sell,» she adds.< /p>
«We've tried them, we've tried them all. But I'm not sure.»
Fox, who took over as CEO of a 325-year-old retailer in 2020 after three years as a non-executive director, has nothing against people who choose not to drink.
The company has even hosted soft drink dinners for private clients in luxurious private dining rooms above their store in St. James Street, London.
However, instead of offering alcohol-free wine, its in-house chefs opted to make homemade liqueurs from herbs grown on its rooftops.
Berry Bros. & Rudd has had an official warrant to supply the British Royal Family since the early 1900s. Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley
«Wine has to have a certain level of alcohol because, I mean, it's 'That's how wine is made naturally and goes through a fermentation process,'» she says.
However, Fox believes that one trend that lives up to the hype is English sparkling wine, which she says «absolutely» has what it takes to challenge champagne.
According to her, when English is carbonated the drink is tasted in a blind tasting, often matching the ratings received from its traditional French competitors, she says.
In fact, only when people are told in advance what they are drinking will they believe. to say that champagne is better, in large part because of the perception of its prestige.
“I’m talking about blind tastings because obviously when you see the label, everything is different,” she explains.
English sparkling wine’s reputation has improved significantly in recent years, thanks in part to climate change, which has helped to turn areas like Sussex and Kent into prime locations for winegrowers.
Many traditional Champagne houses such as Taittinger and Pommery have even bought up land in the south of England.
But the local fizz has faced taunts from prominent continental vintners who say English producers are incapable of challenging their dominance.
Philip Schaus, chief executive of Moët Hennessy, received a cold welcome from English vintners in December 2022, when he said they couldn't be compared.
Mr. Schaus's comments about English carbonation caused a cold reaction from sparkling wine producers in the country . Photo: David Rose
Fox disagrees. “I think [English sparkling] has a real opportunity to become a reliable alternative to champagne.
“Champagnois do amazing things in viticulture and vinification [the process of turning grapes into wine]. They really understand what climate change is and they work so hard to ensure that the wines they produce remain of the highest quality.
“But I think English wines are amazing. And I think in terms of sustainability they have traveled a lot less miles, especially so that the British can drink.”
She is not as enthusiastic about the potential of English still wines, which, in her opinion, , they still have a long way to go before they can come close to the quality that exists on the continent or beyond.
“There's not much left,” she says. “The chalky soil and terroir [of southern England] is very similar to Epernay [in southern France]. And so it is suitable for growing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, the three grape varieties in Champagne.”
There has certainly been no shortage of demand for English wine in recent weeks. On the eve of the coronation of King Charles, Berry Bros. & Sales of English Rudd wine in April increased by 304% compared to the same month last year. Nyetimber's limited edition Coronation wine is completely sold out.
St. James Street, where Berry Bros. & The rudd sits at the end, flagged for weeks now, while the luxury shops next to it put up sumptuous displays dedicated to the king—some subtle, some gaudy.
Walking through the streets of Piccadilly, you, probably do not think that part of the nation and the media were involved in the debate about the role and functions of the monarchy in modern society.
As chief executive of Berry Bros. & Rudd, who has had an official warrant to supply the British royal family since the early 1900s (but has actually supplied them since the mid-1700s), Fox is clear on which side of the debate she is on: she calls working with royalty «great honour». and privileges.”
“I think the royal family is molecules, part of our DNA,” she adds. “When you look at Britain on the international stage, it means something to people. I think it makes us a lot richer as a country.”
Berry Bros. & Rudd itself has a rich history that overshadows that of other companies.
The company was founded by a woman known only as the widow Bourne in 1698, who opened it in St. James Street as a grocer.
It all started with the delivery of beans to new coffee houses that appeared in the vicinity. Even today, there are still plenty of cafes in Piccadilly, although most of them are identikit Pret and Starbucks.
Beneath the vintner's headquarters is a labyrinth of cellars where the best wines are kept, in which the French emperor in exile, Napoleon III, a friend of the owner George Berry in the 1830s, held secret meetings.
In the 1920s, the Scottish Cutty Sark whiskey became hugely popular in Prohibition-era America after it was smuggled into the country in huge quantities from the Bahamas.
Things are a little less dramatic these days, although Berry Bros. & Rudd is still grappling with the turmoil caused by Britain's exit from the EU.
«Importing wine wasn't really a problem,» says Fox. “Returning wine to buyers [outside the UK] was a much bigger problem.
“Once Brexit happened, there was a lot more paperwork, administration, checks… to be honest, it was a headache for us. The situation is improving, but it has been a long time and we are still having problems getting wine to Southern Ireland.»
Emma Fox calls working with members of the royal family «a great honor and privilege.» Photo: Jeff Gilbert
Fox previously worked for major retail chains such as Asda, Walmart and Halfords. Most recently, she took charge of The Original Factory Shop, based in Burnley, where she oversaw a major renovation project driven by private investors.
At Berry Bros. & Rudd, Fox is pushing ahead with a five-year plan to build the company into the future.
“It was obvious we needed to fix some major things,” she says.
This included reducing wholesale wine and spirits operations and focusing more on helping wealthy oenophiles build and store their collections.
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However, Fox is skeptical of the growing number of people considering alcohol as an alternative investment.
“There are…new startups talking about specializing in wine as an investment in an asset class.” she says. “Of course, the best wines become more expensive over time, and many people understand this.”
However, Fox adds: “We never advise or give expert advice as an investment. [Wine] should be drunk because it is a useless asset. It reaches maturity at some point, and if you haven't drunk it yet, it's so sad, because someone put so much care and effort into this wonderful product, and then nothing happened.”
As well as focusing more on collectors, the company hopes to grow in China and throughout Asia from its offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan.
“China is a really interesting market,” she says. “Customers and people who buy fine wine and spirits are generally much younger and really want an education [in wine].”
This is not the case in the UK, where, according to Wine Intellect, the number of people aged 25 to 34 and 18 to 24 who drink wine regularly has dropped dramatically over the past decade.
“I think our young people will probably have to wait longer to be able to drink wine. buy as much wine as our young Chinese customers buy,” adds Fox.
But she believes there are signs that the situation is changing.
«We're kind of reaching out to young people who want to drink less but drink better,» says Fox. “And we found that [people] in their 20s and 30s save more to buy one or two bottles that they read about and they really want to drink, rather than necessarily buying three bottles for -ten [at the supermarket] .
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