AUSTRALIAN GLUT TO DRY BY 2008
After taking a look at the 2006 California crush yesterday, let’s see how things are going in other notable regions:
AUSTRALIA
WINE SHORTAGE. The Wine Grape Growers of Australia predicts that 2007’s overall vintage volume will be 40% or 800,000 tons lower than last year due to the drought. Wine Grape Growers Australia is forecasting a harvest of 1.2 million tons, down 800,000 from the 2006 vintage, which could bring an end to the current grape glut as early as 2008.
Kaumil Gajrawala of UBS, says, “As the lower harvests lead to supply/demand becoming more balanced over the next few years, we expect global wine pricing to firm up."
Could this mean an end to insanely cheap bulk wine? Already, oversupply concerns are easing in the U.S. after the California Agricultural Statistics Service said the grape crush decreased by 16% in 2006.
“This further confirms our expectations for strong U.S. retail pricing,” said Kaumil.
Britain and the U.S. remained the biggest export markets for Australian wine in 2006, while volume to the U.S. grew 6% to a record 221 million liters, while value declined marginally to $927 million.
WASHINGTON
As the U.S.’s second largest wine state, Washington State sold the equivalent of 6.4 million cases of wine in 2006, including 937,000 case equivalents of bulk wine. They crushed 120,500 tons of grapes, and paid an average of $984 per ton, according to the first-ever Preliminary Washington Winery Report.
Washington currently contains 427 wineries, where Chardonnay remains king and Riesling’s not far behind. Among the top 10 varieties in volume, Cabernet Sauvignon reeled in the highest average price at $1,261, followed closely by its parent variety, Cabernet Franc, at $1,243.
AUSTRALIA
WINE SHORTAGE. The Wine Grape Growers of Australia predicts that 2007’s overall vintage volume will be 40% or 800,000 tons lower than last year due to the drought. Wine Grape Growers Australia is forecasting a harvest of 1.2 million tons, down 800,000 from the 2006 vintage, which could bring an end to the current grape glut as early as 2008.
Kaumil Gajrawala of UBS, says, “As the lower harvests lead to supply/demand becoming more balanced over the next few years, we expect global wine pricing to firm up."
Could this mean an end to insanely cheap bulk wine? Already, oversupply concerns are easing in the U.S. after the California Agricultural Statistics Service said the grape crush decreased by 16% in 2006.
“This further confirms our expectations for strong U.S. retail pricing,” said Kaumil.
Britain and the U.S. remained the biggest export markets for Australian wine in 2006, while volume to the U.S. grew 6% to a record 221 million liters, while value declined marginally to $927 million.
WASHINGTON
As the U.S.’s second largest wine state, Washington State sold the equivalent of 6.4 million cases of wine in 2006, including 937,000 case equivalents of bulk wine. They crushed 120,500 tons of grapes, and paid an average of $984 per ton, according to the first-ever Preliminary Washington Winery Report.
Washington currently contains 427 wineries, where Chardonnay remains king and Riesling’s not far behind. Among the top 10 varieties in volume, Cabernet Sauvignon reeled in the highest average price at $1,261, followed closely by its parent variety, Cabernet Franc, at $1,243.
posted at 2:38 PM
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