When Jean-Manuel Spriet apparently accused rival wine producers of promoting misleading half-price discount deals last month, he had no idea of the furore it would provoke. The head of Pernod Ricard UK's comments led to an industry debate about the UK's drinking culture, supermarket pricing and the quality of wine on British shelves.

Unfortunately it was all conducted in his absence - he was on holiday in France at the time.

Speaking exclusively to The Grocer on his return, he confesses he was surprised by the national media's reaction to his comments, and insists that some of those comments were misconstrued.

However, he says, he has no regrets about the debate that ensued. "I was inviting the industry to be responsible," he explains. "What I meant was, if promoting is a way of doing business in the wine category then I think that permanent half-price discounting is not sustainable."

Spriet believes that it is important to re-address the big issue of pricing in the drinks industry, especially given the growing concerns over aggressive discounts down the supermarket drinks aisles - introduced to drive footfall - which some have suggested also encourage binge drinking.

However, he stresses, it is not the same sort of problem for the wine category as it is for beer and other alcoholic drinks.

"I don't think wine has been seen to be significantly involved in the binge drinking debate in the UK," he says. "The responsibility of the whole industry is to preserve the quality and the high perception of this category."

Even so, Spriet acknowledges that the British public is sensitive to the issue of binge drinking, and any discussion surrounding supermarket price promotions on wine would inevitably warrant the sort of scrutiny normally reserved for the beer industry.

He admits that in some ways wine brands have to tread a finer line than beer in terms of capturing consumer loyalty. "I don't believe there are any wine brands that are indispensable to the retailer in the UK, but we have a joint benefit to sell brands together and to grow the category," he says. "We have a very well-developed wine category here and competition is fierce, but quality is paramount. You need to give people a good reason to come back to your wine."

Despite this, and using Pernod's Jacob's Creek brand as an example, he says that it is brands collectively that are fuelling the growth in the wine market.

Since acquiring Allied Domecq's spearhead wine brands Campo Viejo from Spain and Montana from New Zealand, Pernod Ricard has managed to grow these by more than 40%, says Spriet. "When you move brands from one portfolio to another it can be hard to keep up the momentum but these brands have had strong growth since they came on board."

So with brands, particularly those from the New World, the competition is obviously fiercer than ever.

Spriet admits that increased price promotions are inevitable but says the industry has managed to develop the wine category in the UK during the past 20 years by focusing both on quality and careful pricing.

"As an industry we have a responsibility to preserve and maintain this perception of good value for money," he says. "The consumer is getting more sophisticated and we want them to trade up.

"I believe Pernod has a very strong model and it is adding value to the category," he adds. "But I am not giving lessons."n

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