The introduction to our Global Report of August 2023 started as follows: “Another month of limited buying activity has passed by on the world’s bulk wine markets, with the traditional lull during the Northern Hemisphere summer holiday season now exacerbating the quietness. Pockets of activity exist but these feel like exceptions in an altogether quiet landscape.” Last year’s “pessimism in all major producer countries about the long-term drift away from wine consumption” is continuing through 2024, but shorter crops and the return of China as a buyer in Australia have helped make the landscape appear a little more active.
Some exporters have experienced a better year. Shorter European crops in 2023 were followed by shorter Chilean and South African crops in 2024, tightening availability of generic and varietal whites that were already in better supplydemand balance than their red counterparts. Versus disappointing sales last year, Spain’s total wine exports were up 3.6% in January-May and Chile’s up 14.1% in January-June, driven by the need for whites; South Africa’s export volumes have remained in decline partly because the shortness of its 2023 production – the smallest in over 20 years – has hindered it from being able to offer white wines.
Italy’s whites continue to perform well on the export front: 2023 Pinot Grigio IGT is sold out and Prosecco bottlings in January-July were up 5.7%. Meanwhile, Australia’s total export volumes in the country’s financial year to 30th June were kept in line (-0.2%) at the last minute by the removal, in March, of China’s punitive import tariffs, otherwise shipments would have been closer to 5% down.
Buyers around the world have been continuing to contract volumes conservatively, wary of increased costs, fragile consumer spending and changing habits, and a lack of demand pressure from retailers and distributors who – in some markets at least – still appear to be destocking. For those buyers able to identify areas of potential sales growth, there is bulk availability – lowered in price – that represents a highly attractive price-quality opportunity.
At the moment, California, France and Argentina especially feel like fertile ground for buyers. As our California Report states this month: “We have not before seen the buying opportunities the like of which we are seeing now.” These include Central Valley wines but also cachet appellations of Coastal California, ideal for mid-tier export programmes. In France, owing to market slowness, “quality levels on remaining stocks of 2023 and non-vintage wines are impressive” and prices have reduced, constituting a real opportunity for the next month or two before prices potentially start higher on the 2024 vintage. Like in California, there are also cachet opportunities – for example, bottled reds and whites from prestigious Burgundy appellations are priced significantly lower than they have traditionally been. And Argentina holds good volumes of standard, premium and high-end Malbec at pricing noticeably down versus 12 months ago.
As recently stated by US business management consultants Azur Associates, such lower prices can ultimately give consumers “high quality wines that over deliver”, assisting in wine’s fight to hold market share against a widening repertoire of alternatives. Ciatti’s global network gives the company the ability to provide the full spectrum of current opportunities for buyers and sellers alike: Don’t hesitate to get in touch. In the meantime, read on for the latest from each market.