Recent figures in the annual report of the International Organisation of Wine and Vine confirm that the world wine industry is undergoing considerable change. In particular, long-dominant European nations are finding their position strategies challenged by the emergence of countries such as China, both as producers and consumers. Globally, demand has risen slightly to 242 million hectolitres (mhl), down from its peak of 250mhl in 2008 but up from the low of 240mhl in 2014, and there are signs of long-term growth. Yet per-capita consumption is stable or slightly falling among the French, Spanish and Portuguese – once upon a time daily wine-drinkers. What has more than filled up the gap is the global market, with occasional consumers around the world drinking wine one to three times per week. Another encouraging sign for the industry…wine is finding new customers in countries with large populations. In the early 1990s, the US market was ranked 6th in the world, but by 2016 it had climbed to the no.1 spot at 31.8mhl, followed by France (27mhl), Italy (22.5mhl) and Germany (20.2mhl). A substantial market has already been established in Brazil, in spite of the negative economic trends in 2017, and there are great expectations in India, still to be confirmed. With these new markets - often being driven by emerging local production - the number of wine-producing countries is also increasing. The example of Australia is most familiar, but fewer with the experience of countries such as Canada. In fact, consumption in Canada has been rising steadily for some years. The government is making efforts to stimulate national production and hopes to be able to export Canadian wine. Local production is even emerging in Ethiopia, where the highlands are well-suited to grape cultivation and there is a substantial non-Muslim population (approximately 66% out of a total of 100 million). However, China is leading the industry shake-up, by virtue both of its size and determination. Wine enjoys great symbolic value there, linked to the fact it’s a product of the land and has strong historical ties, yet it also functions as a ‘high INTERNATIONAL CHINESE WINE DRINKERS CHANGE FACE OF INDUSTRY China leads the emergence of a ‘new world order’ in the global wine market. Here, Frenchbased KEDGE Business School Wines and Spirits Academy director Jacques-Olivier Pesme discusses a trend that will radically change the face of the international wine industry. 40 DRINKtech JUNE 2017 NEW ZEALAND
FT-Jun17
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