Research shows British Web users’ love of French wine and reveals how our fellow European online shoppers can help us make expert choices

Paris, 7th September 2009 – As this year’s wine is being harvested, consumers are starting to stock up their wine supplies in readiness for the upcoming winter and Christmas season. Latest research released today by Twenga reveals that British online users are the most avid wine enthusiasts in Europe, with wine accounting for 31% of all online searches across food and drink products.

The research (see chart 1 below) highlights the most popular wines searched by online consumers in the UK in comparison with France, Italy, Spain and Germany. It shows that French wine, with 64% of the UK searches, is the most popular wine among British users. In their love of French wine, Britons are second only to the French (86%) and ahead of the Germans (40%). Italian and Spanish users rank French wine a close second behind wines from their own countries. The overall dominance of French wine on the web can be explained by the fact that France has some of the most expensive wines and therefore justify the cost of shipping.

Twenga’s research also reveals which local wines are most popular among the local populations of Europe.

“Local people are still the best experts on their country’s wine,” says Twenga’s Head of Content, Thérèse Torris. “British online users can take a leaf from the choices of local wines made by French, Italian, Spanish and German users. They are a great source of inspiration about new wines to explore.”

Indeed comparing the wines of each region chosen by British online shoppers with those preferred by local French, Italian, Spanish and German users brings new exceptional wines to light.

“Among Italian and Spanish wines, it’s definitely worth looking beyond the Chiantis and the Riojas”, says wine blogger and international expert Britt Karlsson of BKWine. “Wines like the Italian Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino, or the Spanish Ribera del Duero and the top-quality dry sherry wines from Jerez, are very well-known locally, but less so outside their country of origin. Likewise, I follow German users in their preference for the delicate German Rieslings and their Spätburgunder (German for Pinot Noir!). French users’ preferences point to the great French classics but also to two regions worth discovering: the Languedoc-Roussillon and the Jura.”

Searches for wine in the Food & Drink sections of Twenga’s sites, detailed by country of origin of the wine