Cleanskin Article from the Daily Telegraph

Great wine a 'sip' at $3 a bottle
By Jeff Collerson in The Daily Telegraph
May 28, 2004

IT'S a fine wine quaffer's delight. Top quality plonk for just $3 a bottle.

Due to the current glut of Australian wine, drinkers are cleaning up on "cleanskin" bargains.

Cleanskins are bottles of wine with minimal labelling, and need carry no more than a sticker listing the number of standard drinks in the bottle, alcohol level, preservatives and address of the retailer.

Although selling at bargain prices, the wine is not cheap and nasty, as one might expect.

Shane Tremble, control brand manager for the Woolworths Liquor Group, said: "Cleanskins have been around for 30 years but due to the wine glut have exploded in the past 12 months.

"We are being offered between 10 and 12 wine samples each week as cleanskin bottling candidates," he said.

Mr Tremble said producers were over-stocked, especially with red wine, and wanted to dispose of the excess without having their brand damaged by cheap sales.

"We have two levels, one at $6.99 and the other at $10 per single bottle.

"The cheaper range includes a cabernet sauvignon from Orange and a merlot blended from Alpine Valley, Victoria and SA Riverland fruit while we have a Margaret River cabernet sauvignon, a Clare Valley/Watervale riesling and an Orange chardonnay on the top rung."

But Steve Chambers, who has 15 Chambers Cellars shops, warns the good times can't continue.

"Australia's current over-supply means some good wine is being sold as cleanskins," he said.

"But a couple of small or poor vintages will change that and much of the cleanskin wine will become rubbish.

"We are selling some South Australian wines for $5.99 and do deals where if customers buy two dozen it can cost as little as $2.91 a bottle.

"And we have cleanskins from premium regions like Victoria's Yarra Valley and SA's Limestone Coast for $8 to $9 a bottle if bought in dozen lots," he said.

Jeremy Stockman, na tional fine wine manager for Coles Myer Liquor Group, said he is being inundated with offers from wineries to take wines as cleanskins because of the excess.