US wine exports went up by 30% in the last year, and have increased more than 100% in the last 10 years.
Exports – 95% of which come from California – went up in value to US$876m in 2006 compared to US$673.5m in 2005, according to statistics just issued by the California Wine Institute.
The export surge reflects a long term trend, Wine Institute spokesman Joe Rollo told decanter.com.
In 1997, for example, total US wine exports were US$415m in value.
'The 2006 figure represents a 109% increase in exports by value over the last 10 years,' Rollo said. And the increase also reflects volume: to the tune of 100% over the last 10 years, he added.
Wine Institute president Robert Koch said that the growth is impressive considering the 'trade barriers' that California wineries face in worldwide markets.
These include protectionist tariffs, distribution restrictions and competition from foreign producers, he said.
Half of US wine production goes overseas, and growth was particularly high in Europe which increased by 48% in value. Exports to Canada grew 29% in value.
The figures show the Asian market to be particularly promising. China was up 53% by value, Singapore by 68% and Hong Kong by 19%.
'In China, there is a boom for wines at all price levels. To some extent that appears to be true for other parts of Asia as well,' Ed Kniep, president of US wine exporter American Wine Company told decanter.com.
Have your say... To post your comment on this story, email us at news@decanter.com, making sure the relevant headline is in the subject field
I was interested to note that the US Wine Institute president Robert Koch considers the growth impressive considering the 'trade barriers' put up by the rest of the world. I think the fact that he considers 'competition from foreign producers' to be a trade barrier shows just how deeply protectionist views are held in the US.
Greg Shaw, Hawkshead Wines, UK
I disagree partially with what Mr Shaw says about trade barriers. I don't deny that Americans are 1st class protectionists, but a barrier to trade can easily be that a local producer is able to make a much better quality price ratio (QPR) wine. Until the California wine increases its QPR or at least the perceived QPR in foreign markets, that would be a barrier to increasing exports. I think it was a backdoor way of saying California wines have improved.
It is too bad that California is the only growing region considered by most, indicated by the 95% number, but I guess that leaves the lovely (and often better) Washington and Oregon gems for me!
Chick Wells, Atlanta, GA, USA
No, Greg, that just "shows" some Brits can't report, others can't read and still others know nothing about the American market for wine and just about everything else.
Now let's get back to the real subject you've changed: quality, price, value and fruit. (You've heard about "fruit," right, Greg?)
Dan Friedman, NYC Wine Report, USA
For those that enjoy contrasting and comparing, the two letters above (one from Georgia and one from NYC) contain the textbook differences of US regional variations in tact.
Chick Wells, Atlanta, GA, USA
The "regional variations" (i.e. regulatory differences) that exist from state to state in the US wine market have nothing whatsoever to do with protecting our market from foreign competition, which anyone who shops for wine here knows is quite intense.
Dan Friedman, NYC Wine Report, USA
Half of Us wine production is now exported?
Are you sure? I am in Montreal and buy wines at both the Quebec and Ontario monopolies (as well as back across the border). Canada is supposedly the No. 1 US export market from what I have read. The number of American wines in Quebec stores remains paltry; in Ontario stores it is a bit broader but not great, and on my last visits, albeit a couple of years ago, to Canada's 3rd wine-drinking province, British Columbia, few American wines could be found (understandable, perhaps, in view of B.C. wines becoming so often just outstanding and largely unmatched in their price ranges). Particularly missing are California wines to compete with Gallo in the quality lower price, higher volume, range. Where is Joe Franzia, and his competitors and his wantabes, who could put "Two Buck Chuck"s and "Three Buck Moe"s under different labels and grab a large part of this market?
Under the circumstances I find the claim that half of US grown wine is now exported to be curious and look forward to seeing the official 2006 figures.
H. Keller-LeFebvre, LaSalle (Montreal), QC, Canada
Speaking of "protectionism," Mr. Keller-LeFebvre, that's the reason you see so much French wine and so little US wine on your shelves. Quebec is so European, n'est-ce pas? Anyway, you can get all the facts and figure here: www.wineinstitute.org
And here, for the benefit of Greg Shaw, Hawkshead Wines, is the full quote vis a vis "trade barriers":
"The growth is impressive considering the trade barriers that California wineries face in markets worldwide, such as protectionist tariffs, distribution restrictions and competition from foreign producers who receive production subsidies from their governments. The recently signed U.S./EU wine agreement gives California wineries assurance that the EU market will remain open to California wines and that trade requirements will be consistent, providing producers in both markets a stable environment for trade," said Robert P. (Bobby) Koch, Wine Institute President and CEO.
Dan Friedman, NYC Wine Report
Register on decanter.com absolutely free for news alerts delivered direct to your email inbox, and our fortnightly newsletter with advance notice of what’s coming up in Decanter magazine, offers, competitions and more.
PLUS registration is a one-stop shop for the Decanter magazine Archive and Decanter Fine Wine Tracker.
I was interested to note that the US Wine Institute president Robert Koch considers the growth impressive considering the 'trade barriers' put up by the rest of the world. I think the fact that he considers 'competition from foreign producers' to be a trade barrier shows just how deeply protectionist views are held in the US.
