Packaging
THE CARDS ARE BEING RESHUFFLED IN THE WINE MARKET. DRINKTEC 2009
Friday 17. July 2009 - WINEGROWERS BENEFIT FROM TECHNICALLY MATURE PROCESS, FILLING, EQUIPMENT AND PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY
French and Italian winegrowers are under pressure. Wines from Australia and South America are gradually outstripping the traditional global market leaders. And Germany is enjoying a renaissance as a producer of high-quality wines. The cards are therefore being reshuffled in the wine market. Increasingly important trumps in this game are process, filling, equipment and packaging technologies. drinktec 2009, World Fair for Beverage and Liquid Food Technology, presents everything necessary for the economic production of wine. Good reasons for winegrowers from all over the world to travel to Munich from 14 to 19 September.
A decent drop requires more than just a good location – it also needs mature technology, and at drinktec 2009 producers who bottle wine in large quantities will find the appropriate technologies: tanks and containers, mash transporters, weighing equipment, presses and red wine preparation systems, stabilisation equipment, desulphurisation plants etc. are just a part of the extensive range. In addition there is cross-sector technology, which could tip the balance for wine-growers who are in global competition; bottling and closure machinery, labelling and inspection systems, and packaging, palletising and conveyor installations.
Upswing in the global market
At the end of the 1980s one in three bottles of wine drunk around the world came from France. Almost two thirds of the global market was divided between France and Italy, with Italys share on average being 29 percent between 1986 and 1990. But suddenly consumers discovered a love of the modern wines coming out of Australia and South America, which led to growth rates reminiscent of the golden days of the dot com boom. For example, between 1990 and 2007 Australia and Chiles wine exports increased by 1,850% and 1,120% respectively. The result – France and Italy combined held onto only 38% of the global market.
drinktec: talks from the old and new world
In the forum programme at drinktec 2009 there are contributions (on Thursday 17 September 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm, Forum 2, Hall B1) on the subject of wine from the old and the new world. Muriel Barthe of Conseil interprofessionel du Vin in Bordeaux is reporting in the sustainability lecture block on the Carbon footprint of Bordeaux wines, while Prof. Robert Smiley of the University of California is examining the US wine market. Simultaneous translation into German and English is provided free of charge for drinktec visitors.
ABC trend driving Riesling
German wine exports are increasing relatively moderately in comparison with the three-figure export growth rates of Australia and Chile. However they are a good example of another interesting trend in the global market – the shift from the modern, global style of wine to typical regional indigenous wines. This ABC movement (Anything But Chardonnay or Cabernet) brought and is bringing Germany back into the business.
From the German point of view the success has one name – Riesling. With their most noble vine, German winegrowers have succeeded in setting aside their sweet and cheap Liebfraumilch image, and are continuously raising the prices of their wines. In 2000 they were netting average prices of 128 euros per hl for exports, while in 2007 this had risen to 200 euros per hl. In the most important German export market and self-confessed Riesling country, the US, it is even over 300 euros per hl – and volumes are rising; export quantities to the United States have more than doubled since 2000. And this upswing is set to continue. According to a current survey, an increasing number of young American wine lovers are discovering German Riesling for themselves.
New in-grape Pinot Noir
Germany could also benefit from the next global wine trend in red wine, because the new in-grape is Pinot Noir. Together with France and California, Germany makes up the top three producers of this red wine grape. However market researchers are assuming that foreign demand for German Pinot Noir will come primarily from countries such as Russia and China, because in these countries the focus is more on the grape and its cultivation and less on its country of origin. The figures certainly back up this theory: red wines have been increasing at a disproportionate rate in exports as a whole for some years now. And a large part of the striking growth in sales over the past year to China (53%) and Russia (22%) comes from red wine.
For large wine importers such as the US, German is and will remain first and foremost the white wine specialist. German red wines still lack glamour and reputation, although they regularly take top place in international blind tastings. So there is still a way to go. That also applies to German rosé wines, which are on the right track at home. Sales in this segment in Germany increased in 2008 by a further 7.5% to reach its current total market share of 9%.
Bur regardless of which wines the world drinks in the future, one thing will be true sooner or later for all of them. As well as growing the grapes, wine producers must get many technological issues right in the development, filling and packaging of wines. And drinktec, from 14 to 19 September 2009 in Munich is the ideal platform to prepare extensively now for this challenge.