Abstract
This Intelligence set represents excellent value for money. It includes
just-drinks' exclusive Southern Hemisphere grape supply and wine production
report, along with profiles of seven major players in the drinks market,
namely, Diageo plc, Pernod Ricard SA, Constellation Wines Constellation
Brands, Inc, Foster' s Group Limited, Brown-Forman Corporation, Lion Nathan
Limited and the Rémy Cointreau Group.
The global wine industry has gone through massive changes in recent years.
Although still fragmented in terms of the sheer number of people producing
wine around the world, consolidation at the top has left some of the world' s
most powerful brands in the hands of fewer and fewer people: Constellation,
through the Hardy Wine Company, FGL Wine Estates through Wolf Blass and the
ex-Southcorp brands, Pernod Ricard through Orlando Wyndham and Jacob' s Creek -
all these are major multinational companies who have achieved significant
economies of scale.
With many of wine' s new superpowers operating and farming in the Southern
Hemisphere or, to be more accurate, in Australia in particular, just-drinks
has published its first study of Southern Hemisphere grape supply and wine
production.
Use this report to answer the following questions:
- Are the prices for key grape varieties rising or falling?
- What effect will new plantings have in the future?
- And what role will consumer tastes and preferences play in the next few
years?
Following interviews with key industry executives, we offer an unrivalled
guide to the supply situation in all the major wine-producing countries of the
Southern Hemisphere, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile and
Argentina. For each of these countries, the report includes:
A concise harvest report for 2006, supported by relevant data. An assessment
of the current grape supply, demand and pricing situation for key grape
varieties and regions, supported by historical data. Supply, demand and
pricing forecasts for the same regions and varieties, reviewing trends such as
new plantings and changes in consumer demand. Production issues, including
grower/producer relationships, limitations on supply and planting
restrictions. Major producer profiles, supported by production data.
What is happening in the major regions?
In Australia, the continuing grape glut affecting many areas is the main
theme. Growers are increasingly desperate in an area which could lose
A$50m-plus in income. Many contracts have been suspended or not renewed as
beleaguered wineries like Evans & Tate and McGuigan Simeon try to cut down on
unallocated wine inventories.
In 2004 New Zealand achieved a record crop at 165,000 tonnes, and last year' s
was reasonably big at 142,000 tonnes. Demand for New Zealand Kiwi Sauvignon
Blanc has rocketed and producers have struggled to keep pace. This year looks
sure to be another record-breaker - but will it be enough to satisfy the
global demand for New Zealand' s wines, particularly Sauvignon Blanc?
South Africa appears to have something of an identity crisis in its production
model at the moment. There' s a broad consensus that premium wines at a higher
price-points are the way forward, yet the country continues to be a source of
bargain basement wine instead. Crop estimates for 2006 have fallen somewhat as
the harvest has progressed, reaching a level just above 1.2m tons, 5% up on
last year. But will that still be too big when stocks are still relatively
high, and grape prices so low?
Chile as a nation has become a victim of its own success, with booming copper
exports to China in particular causing the Chilean peso to surge up against
the dollar. The result is falling profits for many big wine companies, who
earn most of their money through dollar exports and are now keen to cut costs,
particularly when buying grapes.
In Argentina, the main challenge continues to be the transformation of the
industry from one focused on the domestic market to an export-led model; the
demands of international markets in terms of grape varieties used, quality
levels and wine styles are very different.
That said, Argentina' s industry has the scale to supply large quantities of
wine at keen prices, as was shown by exports rising by one-third last year,
along with growing numbers of international companies keen to source wines and
build brands there.
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