Spain, South Africa and Australia have been tipped to offer some of the best deals for trade wine buyers this year.
Supplies of European wine have been boosted by good 2013 harvests from countries including Spain and Italy, which may have the knock-on effect of pushing down the cost of New World wines, suggest experts.
The large Spanish crop, especially in La Mancha, has brought sharp drops in the price of the country’s wine - already a lucrative source of entry-level bulk product.
“Producers are putting out attractive pricing to try to move full inventories - their pricing has moved pretty dramatically over the course of a year,” says Rabobank analyst Steve Rannekleiv. This is in contrast to last year, when a light 2012 crop saw exports from Spain tail off as countries including the UK turned to South Africa to bridge the gap.
South Africa is expected to remain an attractive source for wine buyers, even though its 2013 harvest was smaller than in 2012, adds Rannekleiv.
One reason for this is the weakening rand, which is set to make South Africa “a producer of choice for the UK,” says Cobevco’s winemaking consultant Justin Knock MW. Prices may also come under pressure from record production expected for 2014, which could encourage wineries to shift existing stocks more quickly to make room to store this year’s bumper harvest.
Bulk wine bargains are also expected from Australia, as good supply, slackening demand from China and the weakening dollar keep prices favourable for the UK. Although the harvest is expected to be large in 2014, slight uncertainty remains over its quality and wines are unlikely to be as concentrated as last year, added Knock.
New Zealand is tipped to have a bumper harvest, but volumes are down in Chile where bulk prices are starting to edge up, especially for white varietals such as Chardonnay. Prices have also not eased in California, which has been affected by severe drought. particularly in the South of the region where the majority of wines for the bulk market are produced. Premium quality wines from Europe are also getting harder to find, said Knock, particularly in France following bad weather last year.
And some experts have warned that despite the bargains to be had from some regions, retail prices are unlikely to fall as other input costs continue to rise.
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