Where Best Imported Wines Come from
Argentina & New Zealand Drinks Show Greatest Percentage Gains
Jul 21, 2008
This study ranks the overall value of wines imported into the United States during 2007 by country, and further organizes the analysis by Old World and New World wine countries.
Led by their established traditions of fine wine-making perfected over thousands of years, France and Italy lead the world in making traditional European products known collectively as Old World wines.
New World wines are from more recent global wine makers and exporters including Australia, Canada, Chile, Argentina and South Africa. Because a growing cohort of affluent drinkers continue to search for exciting new premium wine taste experiences, imported New World wines are now very competitive in America even when measured against very popular Californian New World wines.
Top 10 Suppliers of Old World Wine Imports
For the 10 countries listed below, Old World wines countries generated US$3.4 billion worth of wine imported into the U.S. during 2007. France and Italy accounted for over 80% of that total.
- France … US$1.3 billion in 2007 (42.7% of Old World wines)
- Italy … $1.3 billion (38.1%)
- Germany … $286.1 million (8.3%)
- Spain … $276 million (8%)
- Portugal … $72.5 million (2.1%)
- Austria … $12.1 million (0.4%)
- Greece … $11 million (0.3%)
- Romania … $1.4 million (0.01%)
- Switzerland … $1.2 million (0.01%)
- Russia … $1.16 million (0.01%).
Top Suppliers of New World Wine Imports
Amounting to $3.3 billion were New World wines imported into America in 2007 from the following 10 countries. The top 3 countries below generated about 83% of that total.
- Mexico … US$1.6 billion (49.1% of New World wines)
- Australia … $799.8 million (24.3%)
- Canada … $299.8 million (9.1%)
- Chile … $211.2 million (6.4%)
- New Zealand … $151.5 million (4.6%)
- Argentina … $133.2 million (4%)
- South Africa … $42.1 million (1.3%)
- Japan … $24.5 million (1.1%)
- Brazil … $2.1 million (0.1%)
- Algeria … $15,000 (0.001%).
Fastest-Growing Old World Imported Wines
Overall, the value of imported wines into the U.S. from the top 10 Old World wine countries in 2007 gained 10.2% from the prior year and were up 35.8% since 2003.
- Greece … up 24% from 2006, up 42.4% since 2003
- Russia … up 20%, up 52.9%
- Austria … up 17%, up 42.8%
- Spain … up 15.3%, up 73.2%
- France … up 10.2%, up 28.9%
- Italy … up 9.8%, up 39.8%
- Germany … up 9%, up 28.2%
- Portugal … up 4.6%, up 37.2%
- Switzerland … down 19.8%, down 7.9%
- Romania … down 47%, down 27.2%).
Fastest-Growing New World Imported Wines
Imported New World wines from all producing nations below rose 5% last year from 2006, and were up 46.5% since 2003. Argentina and New Zealand had higher one-year increases than any other imported wine in the U.S. including Old World wines.
- Argentina … up 42.5% from 2006, up 242.6% since 2003
- New Zealand … up 37.2%, up 199.9%
- Chile … up 24%, up 50.9%
- Japan … up 15%, up 41.8%
- Australia … up 4.1%, up 27.4%
- Mexico … up 0.2%, up 50.6%
- Canada … down 1.1%, up 11.3%
- South Africa … down 2.8%, up 96.0%
- Brazil … down 13.6%, up 353.7%
- Algeria … down 65.9%, down 57.1%.
Sources for this Article
This article presents independent calculations and insights based on data drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau – Foreign Trade Statistics.
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