24-06-2015 14:02    Vincent

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The Vinexpo Study on Europe: some historic markets, some of the biggest producers, some of the biggest drinkers, but mostly some trends to watch

As some of you know, and as mentioned already, the Vinexpo study covers many different countries. For the Europe part of this series you’ll get to see some of the trends in France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the Netherlands.

France

• The country remains the biggest wine-producing country
• In volumes, France is the biggest consumer of rosé wines
• And the biggest consumer of red wines
• The wine consumption in France has declined since the 1970’s. However the study predicts that it will level out over the next five years. Some of the reasons are:
  • The country will gain new consumers of legal drinking age (about 1,3 million
  • More and more wine bars and cocktail bars appear on the market. Wine bars are more fancy and more appealing to young consumers (for both cheap and premium segment)
• Rosé wines are predicted to see their consumption increase. Those wines are now drunk throughout the year and no longer just during summer months. Plus France is a major producer of that type of wine (with regions such as Provence…)
• Sparkling wines are also expected to see their consumption rise. They offer a great variety and competitive prices compared to Champagne (of which sales fell by 3% in 2013)
• The most popular spirit is Scotch whisky, although its consumption is slowing down.

Italy

• The country is the biggest wine exporter in the world
  • The main partners for export are in order: Germany, the US and the United Kingdom
• In volumes, Italy is the biggest consumer of white wines in the world
  • In 2014, the domestic consumption of white wine was even a bit higher than the one of red wine.
• The study demonstrates a steady decline in wine consumption the last years, and predicts the decline to continue in the next five years.
• Consumption of spirits is also going down, but should level out in the next years.
• However, Vodka’s popularity keeps increasing. Rum, gin, tequila and bourbon are their part finally on the rise again.

United Kingdom

• Between 2009 and 2013, UK’s wine consumption declined by 7,9%. However, the trend is changing, and the study predicts a growth for both still (+5%) and sparkling wines (+11%).
• The UK consumers are predicted to continue to gain interest in sparkling wines
• The UK wine market is predicted to become the second market by value of consumers of wine by 2018 (behind the US, but before France)
• Australia and France are the biggest supplier of wine
• Contrary to other neighboring countries, the consumption of spirits is on the rise. Concerning the types of spirits, the study noted
  • Vodka is the favorite spirit of the UK consumer, but it’s sales are predicted to fall by 2018.
  • Bourbon, and Tequila gain popularity rapidly and are expected to continue to do so for the next years.
  • However, brandy, cognac and scotch see their sales decrease

Germany

• The country is the biggest importer of still wines
• And the biggest consumer of sparkling wines: Germans love bubbles (but not Champagne apparently) and consumes massively their own production, as well as enormous amounts of imported sparkling wine. Popular drinks and cocktails requiring bubbles in their recipes fuel the trend.
• The consumption of wine is leveling out. The study noted a decline in the last years (-2,8%), but predicts an increase by 1% by 2018.
• On the spirits market, the balance between imports and local products is shifting. The demand and consumption of local spirits has gone down, and will continue its decline in the next five years. However, imported spirits are expected to continue to grow by 2018 (+4,7%)

The Netherlands

• Not the biggest in anything, but experiencing a slow growth in wine consumption (+1,6% between 2009 and 2013); and predicted a further increase till 2018 (+2,4%)
• White wine overtook red, and is expected to maintain its lead in the next five years.
• Dutch consumers still tend to consume French wines primarily (one out of three consumed bottles is French). However, the market share of wines from South Africa, Chili and American wines is going up.
• Spirits however are experiencing a decline in consumption, and the trend is expected to continue in the next years. Gin and liqueur are expected to loose on popularity. Scotch whisky on the other hand is predicted to continue to rise (+8,4% by 2018)

More info:

About IWSR, www.theiwsr.com

About Vinexpo, www.vinexpo.com