Top Ten Wine Exporting Countries

Wine is undeniably the most favored beverage globally.  The wine industry has now expanded immensely with manufacturing of this beverage on the increase. Vast expanses of land across continents are now flourishing as vineyards. Exports and imports of wine are dominating trade, worldwide. A well-stocked wine cellar boasts of a selection of classic wines from different corners of the world like the Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Merlot, only to name  a few. For a number of years, France monopolized the wine industry topping production and export/import charts, but in later years a number of other countries have come up with impressive results. The top ten rankings may be given to the following nations in terms of exports.

• Italy
• France
• Spain
• Australia
• Chile
• United States
• Germany
• Argentina
• Portugal
• South Africa

Italy

Italy happens to be the single largest producer of wine in the world. Viticulture is practiced in almost all parts of the country with emphasis on all international varietals of grapes. But there exists a global demand for the country’s domestic wines as well like the Piedmont redd Barolo made from native Nebbiolo grapes and the Barberra from Barbera grapes which the country exports on a large scale.

United States is the largest consumer of Italian wine followed by Germany. The country witnessed record export revenue in the year 2008 with figures crossing 3.5 billion Euros.

France

French wines go down a long way in history, being the preferred beverage of Roman Emperors. Almost all other wine growing nations owe their wine making practices and styles to the French who are veterans in this field. In France, the flavors of each variety of wine are linked to the place, village or terrain in which it is grown. Even today there are few wines that can match the effervescence and lingering tastes of Burgundy and Bordeaux.

French wine industry has definitely benefitted from increased demand in worldwide consumption but the economic crisis has affected exports to a market extent. Burgundy has its biggest market in the UK as well as the US but in the first half of this year, exports showed a decline in the first half of 2008. Even champagne which is a universal favorite showed a decline in export figures.

Spain

Spain is the single largest cultivator of vines in the world though it isn’t the largest wine producer. This is because of the low yields from some of the vineyards in the country. Any wine connoisseur can tell a Spanish sherry from another. There are around 600 varieties of grapes planted in the country though wine is produced from only 20 types. The biggest consumers of Spanish wines are US and Canada mainly due to better exchange rates.

The year 2010 has seen a good start for the Spanish export market following a five year crisis marked by decline in sales. The indices show a 12% increase by value and 16% increase by volume in exports. The Spanish government has taken plenty of initiative in popularizing Spanish wine internationally, giving prominence to investment in the wine industry.

Australia

Of late, Australia has shown promising export figures in wine. The country is now the 4^th largest exporter of wines in the world. The economy of the country largely depends on wines as a major source of revenue through, exports, employment and production contributing almost$ 2.8 dollars. The Australian vineyards have no native grapes to their name and mainly grow Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay and Riesling among other international varieties.

The US and UK are the largest consumers of wines produced here though the country has managed to gain entry into Scandinavian, South American and Japanese markets. Imagine, in a day about 2.5 billion bottles of wine are exported from Australian vineyards!

Chile

The 57^th largest exporter of wines is the South American country of Chile. Until recently Pais was the largely grown grape here. Chilean vineyards now grow Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere.  The Cabernet Sauvignon in Chile has a distinct taste of mint, black currents, olives and smoke.

Despite the global demand for Chilean wine, winemakers here are still struggling to move up market because consumers are not willing to give up cheaper vintages brewed here due to economic crisis. The decline in wine exports could also be due to the appreciation in Chilean currency making the wine more expensive in majority of the countries. The country was hit badly in 2009 when shipments fell by 4 million cases, the first time in 16 years.

United States

The past few decades witnessed a rapid growth in the US wine industry thereby leading to impressive export figures. Vineyards are scattered around plenty of regions but the most productive ones are found in the Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley Oregon.

There has been a steady fivefold increase in US wine exports in the past 15 years. The EU is the largest consumer of US wine exports and the income from shipments crosses $486 million. The country also exports to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong and Mexico.

Germany

Riesling is the most popular variety of grape grown here. Germany is known for its classic white wines though the red wine production is also surging. German wines are mainly exported to 4 major regions namely North America, Benelux, Ireland and Scandinavia with the US being the largest consumer.

The worldwide economic crisis has slowed down exports and the export revenue was down in 2009. In fact there has been a 6% fall in volume.

Argentina

Argentina happens to be the 57^th largest producer of wine but in exports, they fall behind because most of the wine produced is consumed by the natives. Argentina rakes in plenty of revenue by way of wine tourism. Malbec is one of the best wines found here.

The country exports mainly to US and Canada.  It has consumers in Germany, Switzerland and Finland. Malbec accounts for 28% of volume in exports.

Portugal

Wine production in Portugal was a contribution made by ancient civilizations, in fact the first vineyard in the world is located here in the Douro valley which is now a World Heritage site protected by UNESCO. Portugal has several native wines to its credit. Portuguese wines are widely preferred due to their pricing. They cost much lesser than French and Italian wines in spite of the fact that there’s no compromise on quality.

Ever since the foundation of the nation, wine has been the most exported product here. Wine production here is never slowed down because the climate is suitable for optimal wine growing conditions.

South Africa

Chenin Blanc is the most cultivated variety of grape here. Most international varieties of grapes are planted here. White grape varieties like Colombard and Cape Riesling are grown abundantly. Besides, there are certain lesser known grapes which produce a bland type of wine that are grown to feed the distilled spirits and fortified wine industry.

South African wine exports haven’t been affected by the global slowdown. They have already bypassed the target of 300 million liters they intended to achieve by the end of the year 2010. This could be because the South African Rand continues to be weaker in most countries and also due to the comparatively newer markets they have managed to tap in Angola and South East Asia.

Chart Showing Top Ten Country’s Export Figures