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ProWein Presents Wine Industry’s ‘Trend Barometer’

Wine producers and marketers see the current economic climate as positive and the overwhelming majority want to expand their exports by 2020, according to a research study commissioned by ProWein in collaboration with the Geisenheim University Business Department. The three-day industry event, which lays claim to the of the largest International Trade Fair for Wines and Spirits, is underway in Düsseldorf.

“Our goal is to have a trend barometer for the coming years,” said Marius Berlemann, head of ProWein, about the ongoing project.

Almost 1,500 wine professionals from 46 countries responded to the survey, conducted in five languages, and included producers and marketers, specialty retailers, wholesalers, importers and gastronomy professionals. Prof Dr. Simone Loose of Geisenheim University presented the results on Monday. They are:

  • Economic confidence: The majority of producers and marketers view the current economic climate as very positive. For the future outlook, producers are more confident than marketers.
  • When asked about the future attractiveness of target markets with an outlook lasting until 2020, Russia, Hong Kong, Poland, South Korea, Brazil and China took the top spots. However, Russia, Brazil, China, UK and Hong Kong are viewed as the riskiest in terms of politics and economics. Russia, Brazil, China, Hong Kong and the U.S. are seen as high risk and high reward markets. By comparison, both the UK and Italy are seen as the markets that combine the highest risk with the least attractiveness.
  • Export outlook: 85 percent of producers want to expand their export markets by 2020. The two top target markets are Germany and the U.S.
  • Routes to market: 85 percent of international marketers are already sourcing wine directly from small wineries. Loose said this indicates a shortening of the supply chain with a subsequent negative outlook for wholesalers and agencies alongside increased administrative and logistical burden for small producers.
  • Sales Channels: U.S. producers rated direct online sales from the winery as well as online retail as the most promising, but also noted increased confidence in food retail as well as direct sales at the cellar door. They showed a negative outlook for wine sales via traditional wine merchants and via restaurants and catering.
  • Forty-eight percent of international producers and 53 percent of international marketers believe that region, origin and terroir are more important in marketing than brand or winemaker personality.

Both Berlemann and Loose look forward to presenting future editions of this research.