Jamie Smith, director, Online Tasting Company
The Online Tasting Company does exactly what it says on the tin
How important are Pays d’Oc IGP wines to your range?
Pays d'Oc IGP wines are important to our French range. They offer a diverse selection that cater to various tastes and preferences among our customers. The ability to offer lots of grapes and styles and affordable pricing help compete in a very competitive market for the everyday drinker.
What do its wines offer you in terms of style and price points that other regions can’t do?
The wines from Pays d'Oc provide a unique blend of style and affordability that sets them apart from other regions. They offer exceptional quality at various price points, making them accessible to a wide range of consumers.
How well known and understood are Pays d’Oc IGP wines with your customers?
While Pays d'Oc IGP wines may not be as well-known or well regarded as some other ‘more premium’ French regions, our customers have shown a growing interest in them. Their overall perception tends to be positive, especially as they discover the exceptional value and quality these wines offer.
What do they offer in terms of quality and value for money?
Pays d'Oc IGP wines consistently deliver on both quality and value for money. Our customers appreciate they can find high-quality wines at affordable prices, making them an excellent choice for everyday enjoyment.
Is the diversity of the label’s offer a helpful selling point for you?
The diversity of the label's offerings, with so many different varieties, is definitely a helpful selling point for us. It allows us to cater to a wide range of tastes and preferences, as well as the ability to rotate styles seasonally, ensuring that there's something for everyone.
Have you noticed any big changes to the wines from Pays d’Oc in terms of winemaking in recent years?
In recent years, we've noticed significant improvements in the winemaking techniques employed in Pays d'Oc. There's been a focus on innovation and sustainability, resulting in wines that are not only delicious but also produced with greater care for the environment. It is much more than just providing a house style or table wine, that it may be been in previous years.
What else would you like to see?
We would love to see even more innovation and experimentation from the label. Continuously pushing boundaries and exploring new styles and varieties will only further enhance the appeal of Pays d'Oc IGP wines. I think these styles of wines need to go hand in hand with the development and testing of new grapes and styles that can then be cultivated in AOC regions to help deal with rising costs and climate change etc.
What is the best-selling price for the wines?
The best-selling price for Pays d’Oc IGP wines varies.However, we find customers are particularly influenced by price, drawn to wines in the mid-range price category, where they can enjoy excellent quality without breaking the bank.
What makes you orientate your clients to a Pays d’Oc IGP wine? Price? Food matching?
When recommending Pays d'Oc IGP wines to our clients, we often highlight their versatility in food pairings, as well as their competitive price points. Linking the grapes to other major regions they are grown help to sell these wines as pairing wines rather than just for drinking alone. With such a huge range pairing can be fairly straightforward with a wide range of dishes, making them suitable for various occasions, whether it's a casual dinner or a special celebration.
Cécile Levaud White, managing director, Les Vignerons de France
Cécile Levaud White, managing director, Les Vignerons de France, is a big supporter of Pays d'Oc IGP wines
How important are Pays d’Oc IGP wines to your range?
They are very important to our range. We currently sell our IGP Pays d’Oc wines to the on-trade who are mostly interested in our varietal wines and secondly as IGP.
What do its wines offer you in terms of style and price points that other regions can’t do?
They are great value for money. The classic varietals are a good selling point as they are easily recognizable for our customers.
How well known and understood are Pays d’Oc wines with your customers?
Generally there is an understanding that these wines are from the Languedoc and that they are easy drinking wines.
What do they offer in terms of quality and value for money?
They are good quality and value for money and customers seem to understand that they sit above other varietals from other countries in terms of quality.
Is the diversity of the label’s offer a helpful selling point for you?
We tend to sell the classic varietals Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. We are slowly trying to get customers to try other varietals, but that is not so easy.
Have you noticed any big changes to the wines from Pays d’Oc in terms of winemaking in recent years?
They are certainly fresher in style now and there has been a definite step up in the overall quality which has improved in the region.
What is the best-selling price for the wines?
We currently only sell our IGP Oc into the on-trade and they are pitched as premium house wines.
What makes you orientate your clients to a Pays d’Oc IGP wine? Price? Food matching?
They are great as house wines as they can be consumed on their own which makes them ideal for bars, golf clubs, sports venues. They are also easy to match with everyday pub food.
Thibault Lavergne, founder, Wine Story
Wine Story's Thibault Lavergne says there are two things that single out Pays d'Oc IGP wines - prices and single grape varieties.
How important are Pays d’Oc wines to your French range?
As we mainly market them at the house wine level, or second, or third lines on a restaurant’s wine list, they are quite substantial in volume to the business.
What do its wines offer in terms of style and price points other regions can’t do?
As we are mainly working with Cave Cooperatives, the offer is very competitive in terms of prices. Also there is now a large variety of styles to choose from.
How well known and understood are Pays d’Oc wines with your customers?
I don't think except by sommeliers, there is a good knowledge of the wines from Pays d'Oc.
What do they offer in terms of quality and value for money?
There is a very good value for money and the quality is improving all the time, particularly at the entry level.
Is the diversity of the label’s offer a helpful selling point for you?
I think that except in some niche markets, there is perhaps too much variety for buyers and customers to understand the differences.
Have you noticed any big changes to the wines from Pays d’Oc IGP in terms of winemaking in recent years?
Yes. There has been a real improvement in quality, particularly with the more easier drinking red wines. They are also now much lighter in style than the mainly very full bodied red wines that we had before. There is also a large variety of styles to choose from due to different styles of winemaking and the introduction and development of new grape varieties.
What would you like to see more from the label?
It is always good to see the grape variety prominent on the label, but perhaps more palate style information on the back label - like medium-bodied or full-bodied etc.
What is the best-selling price for the wines?
This is where they really stand out. Even the special cuvees from independent producers are much more affordable from more established wine regions such as Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone Valley, Piedmont.
What makes you orientate your clients to a Pays d’Oc IGP wine? Price? Food matching?
Two things. The prices and the single grape varieties.
How do you think Pays d'Oc IGP wines differ from the other IGPs and AOCs in Languedoc Roussillon?
Better information about the grape varieties being used and a very large spectrum of wine styles to choose and buy from.
* You can find out more about Pays d'Oc IGP wines at its website here.
