USA – AFTER A DIFFICULT 2009, IS THE SITUATION BEGINNING TO STABILISE?

Despite the financial crisis, the United States remains - and by far - the second largest importer of Burgundy wines, accounting for almost 1 out of every 6 bottles sold outside France and 21% of the vineyard’s export sales.

The crisis brought a sudden interruption to an excellent period for Burgundy wines in the American market, involving four years of growth (2003 - 2007), with overall cumulative growth of 66% by volume and 85% by value over this period, which led to a record level of exports to this market.
With almost 13.7 million bottles exported, amounting to a total 131 million euros, the overall result for Burgundy wines in 2008 is similar to the average in previous years.
Since 2008, exchange rates have also favoured local wines, automatically leading to a rise in the price of imported wines, particularly those in the mid and top-of-the-range price brackets, as is the case with Burgundy wines.
Thus, in 2008, an initial decline was seen in overall wine imports into the United States.
American wine consumption has not in fact slowed down. However, the significant drop in spending power and the financially cautious approach adopted by consumers have notably changed how wine is consumed (fewer restaurant purchases, falling average retail price, increased BIB sales, etc.) and, here too, penalised the top-of-the-range segment.
2009 proved to be more difficult than 2008 for Burgundy, with a one-third decrease in volumes exported in the first nine months compared to the same period in 2008.

However, the situation seems to have begun to stabilise in October. The decline was gradually reversed, and the final quarter of 2009 shows an increase of 25% by volume and 1.3% by value compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.



 
 GRANDS JOURS DE BOURGOGNE 2010

The team behind the Grands Jours de Bourgogne event is currently putting the finishing touches to their preparations for this 10th edition of the event. Every effort is being made to ensure that the participants are welcomed under the best possible conditions, and 1100 people have already registered to attend.