Per the Shanken Rag: U.S. Becomes Top Market For Burgundy, Despite A Decline In Volume And Value
The U.S. has once again become Burgundy’s leading export market by volume—narrowly surpassing the U.K.—a decade after it originally fell from the top spot. In 2014, the U.S. accounted for 18.4% of Burgundy shipments by volume, compared with the U.K.’s share of 18.2%, according to the region’s trade group BIVB. By value, the U.S. has been Burgundy’s top export destination since 2011, with its share currently at 21.6%.
But as its share of the global category rose, the U.S. saw Burgundy shipments slow markedly in 2014. According to French government figures, Burgundy exports to the U.S. fell 10% to 1.1 million cases last year, while value slipped 1% to €153 million ($166m).
Burgundy’s downturn was less severe than that of Bordeaux, whose exports to the U.S. dropped 11% by value to €178 million ($193m) last year on a volume decline of 3% to 1.96 million cases. Meanwhile, Rhône shipments to the U.S. were up about 2% by both volume and value in 2014, and the Loire, Provence and Languedoc-Roussillon all enjoyed double-digit value increases.
Overall, France’s bottled exports to the U.S. inched up 2% to 9.6 million cases in 2014, capping a four-year period in which they’ve grown by more than 2 million cases.