CHILEAN IMPORTS, THE INDUSTRY THAT COULD

Chili’s wine industry keeps chugging along. While Chilean imports have made only a small impact in the U.S., it’s an impact nonetheless – and many wine critics seem to love the wines the country has to offer. While the success of Chilean wine pales in comparison to that of Italy or Australia, the U.S. remains the second biggest market for Chilean exports after the U.K. Both the U.S. and Britain each accounted for about 20% of Chile’s wine exports last year.

According to “Wines of Chile” (a promotional group), business would have been better in the U.S. were it not for the peso's strength against the dollar.

As a result, volume was up while sales were down. In volume terms, Chile exported 13.4% more wine last year than in 2005, but its average price fell 3.3%.

The Concha y Toro winery – one of the fastest growing wineries by volume along with Yellow Tail and Jacob’s Creek – was by far the biggest exporter, with sales of bottled wine abroad worth $175.6 million, 14% higher than in 2005.

“Wines of Chile” specifically wants to boost sales in the U.S., where Chilean wines grew just 0.7% last year. Overall, Chili’s wines account for only 2% of the U.S. market, where Australia and Italy dominate the imports, and local wines continue to rule the sector. Sales of Chilean wine were down 2.7% in the month of January from the previous year, according to ACNielsen data, while volume was down 6.5%.