Last January’s California Report stated: “Probably the biggest question mark over the wine industry in 2022 is: How high will inflation go and if/when will it have an impact on consumer confidence?” The fact that, 12 months on, there are still no definitive answers to these questions highlights what a difficult year 2022 was to read, as the upside of a return to some normality post-pandemic clashed with the downsides of the pandemic’s considerable economic hangover and the global impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Messy and sometimes contradictory data injected further wariness into bulk wine and grape markets struggling to gain forward visibility, the former especially. Outside the perennially in-demand appellations, buyers were pricesensitive as input costs rose and preferred to move forward conservatively (wary of ending up with more supply than needed if consumer demand pulled back) while considering the full array of sourcing choices (wary of supply that allowed for insufficient margin should retailers reject increased shelf prices).
By August we were reporting that “each month, we continue to hear of a few more wineries having difficulty in moving some of their case-good products – this is not true of all wineries, but the number finding the present environment challenging is definitely increasing and now outnumbers those performing buoyantly.” Although annual inflation in the US is likely to have peaked mid-year – reaching 9.1% in June before falling back for five successive months – final quarter consumption is believed to have been more muted than normal, ensuring wine’s total sales volume in 2022 was lower than in 2021. The $15+/bottle categories continued to outperform the market, ensuring total sales value remained in growth – just – but the main question hanging over 2023 is how long this will last. Only time will tell. In the meantime:
Wineries should let us know what 2022 bulk wines they have available so that we can help them find a buyer. Likewise, buyers of bulk wine should let us know their requirements so we can fulfil them quickly.
Grape suppliers should update us on the 2023 grapes they will have for sale. Buyers of grapes should register their interest with us so we can match them up with a supplier.
To get your bulk wine listed, please contact either Mark at +1 415 630 2548 / mark@ciatti.com or Michael at +1 415 630 2541 / michael@ciatti.com.
To get your grapes listed, contact Molly at +1 415 630 2416 or molly@ciatti.com.
We are, as ever, here to help you navigate the twists and turns of the marketplace, so don’t hesitate to get in touch. Read on for our review of 2022 and look ahead to 2023 – we at Ciatti would like to wish all our friends, clients and business associates a very Happy New Year.