Steve Daniel, head of buying at Hallgarten & Novum Wines, seems like a happy man these days. Coterie Holdings’ takeover in December 2023 has reinvigorated the business, bringing much needed funding and a new sense of purpose with Hallgarten now sitting alongside Coterie’s other wine assets such as Lay & Wheeler.
A series of staff appointments has followed, including several at senior level, and the business has taken on many new producers and wines. A recent tasting, The Grape Unveiling (see what they did there) was notable for its upbeat, bullish mood with none of the sense of nervousness or gloom you might expect given the many challenges the UK drinks industry is facing.
“We’re in a good place right now thankfully but there’s no escaping that it’s tough out there. The new National Insurance measures in the budget are just the latest in a series of blows, led by the new, extremely complex duty structure.”
“I mean, 30 different levels of duty according to ABV which could change mid-year with a new vintage… it’s just insane. At the very least the government could have rethought rethink this before it comes into effect in February. It’s incomprehensible and will be very, very expensive to administer,” he says, adding that it could push many smaller operations to the brink.
“Honestly, they just need to give us a break,” he says.
In the meantime, Daniel and his team have been getting on with the altogether happier business of building up Hallgarten & Novum’s portfolio of wines. Some 23 producers were showing at The Grape Unveiling, including familiar names previously with other importers including Vietti, Domaines Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Quinta do Vallado, Llopart, Craggy Range and Mount Langhi Ghiran/Yering Station.
Many more have come on board since, a process that will continue up to and beyond Hallgarten & Novum’s main portfolio tasting on January 27-28 where the group will show around 1000 wines over two days in the former Billingsgate Fish market in the City of London.
“I’m really happy with the producers we’ve signed. Most are small and family run - they look after and care for their people - so they very much fit with our ethos. A perfect example is our new Greek signing Navitas (Zeal). This is a very new producer (first vintage 2021) and based on the slopes of Mount Olympus. So they have a great story and you always need wines to have a story.”
“Maria, the winemaker, really knows her stuff. These wines have a great purity of fruit, use wild yeasts and not much oak, rather amphorae. These are pure well-made, small volume wines, quite different from the rest of our Greek portfolio, and are from the famous Home of the Gods where we haven’t been before.”
“From Italy, I’m really pleased to have signed up three producers, two that will be familiar to everybody – Vietti and Sella & Mosca – and a third which is brand new, from Valpolicella, La Collina dei Ciliegi (The Hill of the Cherry Trees). Again, these are really exciting lines, which I think should find a place on any good restaurant list.”
Daniel is too modest to talk about it but he helped with the blending of some of the wines at the latter, and what wines they are - an untypical take on a region which we probably all associate mainly with heavy red wines, Valpolicella, Valpolicella Ripasso and Amarone.
The Valpolicella Superiore Peratara 2019, the first vintage of the producer’s main wine, is 13.5% abv but thanks to the altitude – this has Valpolicella’s highest vineyards – has an attractive, almost ethereal quality, very much reflecting the variety and terroir rather than allowing oak to carry the wine.
Which is just how it should be, according to Daniel.
“These are modern wines which have a nod to classicism. In the end it’s all about the fruit and although they have ambitions, they are not stupid about pricing.”
And it’s the same with Sella and Mosca, who have reinvigorated some of the entry and mid-level range, focusing on the traditional mainstream Sardinian varieties of Vermentino and Cannonau (Grenache) with the Monteoro 2023 and the Cannonau 2021.
“The ones that are coming through are fresher and more accessible. Drinkability at the end of the day is what people really want.”
Future trends
So, what are the most noteworthy trends in the industry right now? Greece, which Daniel and Hallgarten & Novum have done so much to popularise in the UK on-trade, is still on a roll and Italy is always interesting and can offer great value if you look carefully, particularly if you look away from the Big B’s (Bolgheri, Brunello, Barolo and Barbaresco). Sparkling and pink wine continue to thrive, with more people drinking them throughout the year.
France generally, after a dismal vintage in most parts of the country, is looking quite challenging and consumer tastes are changing, as the Bordelaise know only too well.
“If you had to ask me where is offering the greatest value and quality right now, I would have no hesitation in saying South Africa,” he says, having spent his holidays this year travelling around the country.
“Producers have learned a lot over the past few years and are really making some fantastic wines, at all price points. If you add in the fantastic terroir and a good exchange rate, the offer is unbeatable,” he insists, adding that some of their wines are very attractive alternatives to the pricier wines from the classic regions.
“A good restaurant offering a decent Mersault is going to have to ask, what, £180-200 a bottle? Outside maybe London’s West End or City, that’s crazy money and no one’s going to pay it. It’s the same story with Sauvignon Blanc - the Loire and Sancerre have had poor harvests and have little stock right now. But South Africa is making world class Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc which can plug these gaps, at a decent price.”
At Hallgarten & Novum’s annual tasting in January, we’ll get an even better sense of the new direction, with the extra wines added to the portfolio. One category you probably shouldn’t expect to see much of, however, is no/low.
“Beer works fine as no/ low as you’re working with a smaller palate of flavours. I’ve yet to come across a low/no alcohol wine I could drink willingly, and I don’t get why you’d want to order one in a restaurant. For most people, eating out is a treat, something to enjoy and zero alcohol wine just doesn’t cut it.”
Hallgarten & Novum's annual portfolio tasting takes place on January 27 and 28 at London's Old Billingsgate Market. You can find out more and register here.
Hallgarten & Novum is a commercial partner of The Buyer. To discover more about them click here.