New Zealand's wine market offers potential for overseas producers says Wine Intelligence

By Nigel Huddleston

Published: 21 September, 2015

Per capita consumption figures on a par with northern Europe make New Zealand a market ripe with potential for wine exporters, a new report claims.

Per capita consumption figures on a par with northern Europe make New Zealand a market ripe with potential for wine exporters in other countries, a new report claims.

UK-based Wine Intelligence said 60% of the adult population of New Zealand drinks wine at least once a month, on a par with the Netherlands and Sweden, and ahead of the UK.

While overall consumption volumes have remained relatively stable over the last few years, some categories have shown noticeable growth, with 29% of regular wine drinkers favouring sparkling rosé in their beverage repertoire in 2014, up from 9% in 2010.

The number of Champagne drinkers is growing and Prosecco has expanded its small user base.

Wine Intelligence said the trend for Prosecco reflected a wider enthusiasm for Italian wines, with imports from the country increasing by 46% since 2010 to 140,000 cases, although this number is still dwarfed by the nearly 9 million cases of domestic wine sold. South Africa has seen losses over the same period with sales 20% fewer than 2010 at 130,000 cases.

The research suggests New Zealand's wine drinkers are becoming less value-driven and less likely to be tempted by promotional offers.

Natasha Rastegar, Wine Intelligence country manager for Australia and New Zealand, said: "Despite New Zealand being a small wine drinking population, they enjoy relatively high consumption volumes of wine.

"Although there are some signs of the market becoming more challenging, there is promising growth in niche categories such as sparkling rosé.

"This can perhaps be seen as a reflection of worldwide trends, as we have seen growth in the sparkling sector in a number of markets, as well as increased rosé consumption."

Printer friendly version