Today, we discuss the art of personalisation and how wine, or rather the wine industry, lends itself to it ever so well.
It all began when hotels started hiring full-time sommeliers, and they, in turn, calculated the amount of money that the hotel had to shell out to acquire reputed brands for their wine lists. The more established places had the good sense (and money and space) to buy wines en primeur (a “futures” market for wines, just like with shares) and hoard stocks for decades before they finally listed them for selling.
But smaller outlets had to buy older vintages from the open market and this would leave them slim margins. Add to this the woes of not being able to find coveted bottles in bumper vintages, and the situation could be quite chaotic to manage. Sommeliers abroad are paid a salary, but the percentage tip they collect from the total wine sales that they create is a substantial chunk, one that they wouldn't wish to be deprived of, especially on account of no stock. This is perhaps when someone struck upon the genius idea of private labels i.e. to go and find a good producer and then to convince them to stick not their own, but the outlet’s label, on the wines, all for a fixed price and a minimum order value with the guarantee of repeat annual orders.
It mostly began (in the early 1900s) with champagnes. The wines are expensive and the region is fairly spread out and divided into two: big houses which control about 95 per cent of the market, and the smaller producers who, in spite of making some great sparklers, don't have the same access to the market, nor the clamour of international clients lining up for stocks, and they certainly don't command the same brand value as their corporate-sized counterparts. In short, they were the ideal partners to seek out in this branding game.
So some top restaurants decided to send in their sommelier teams to sit with the house blender (who was usually the father or the family elder) and come up with a plan. More often than not, it was the same champagne but possibly disgorged at a later (or earlier) date and then dosed off with a special mix that would mark the signature taste of the blend. This was then neatly stuck with the new label, one that had been designed by the establishment where the wine would now be served as the house bubbly. And so was possibly born one of the first private labels.
But that is still quite recent a history, one from this century when wine was already sold in bottles. Much before that, wine used to be shipped in barrels and the shipper either bottled the produce at the destination (which was usually his cellar) or sold the barrel directly to a bar or a restaurant.
This practice was so prevalent that even today, when one buys extremely old Bordeaux Claret, one has to pay attention to the shipper in order to ensure provenance and quality. The practice was finally stopped once appellation authorities made a fuss over it in the 1930s and bottling before shipping became mandatory. Private labels today therefore are nothing but a way of revisiting a trade norm that was long in practice before it became cool.
Today a company that goes in for private labels scores on three points: commitment to quality, faith in their selection system, and unchallenged crown of exclusivity. It makes their food and beverage USP stronger and generates the right vinous aura.
Fratelli is an Indian brand that is leading the way, having already made private labels for various top hotels and restaurants. The Taj is taking the idea a step further and will soon be releasing a range of private label wines (initially to be made available in Mumbai at the mothership) before they spread out to other properties in the chain. This is by far the most aggressive marketing play for any hotel in the wine space. If priced sensibly, this could mean serious paydirt. What other hotel organisations do next is for all of us to see.
As is the case with all markets, when the competition heats up, it is the consumer who stands to feel real cosy.
