 Until now the wine industry hasn't been a focus for the Argentinean government so this is a good sign, James Forbes, UK head of Wines of Argentina reportedly said. 'It's good to have the extra promotional money but spread across 50 global markets it won't change the fortunes of the Argentinean wine industry,' he added
It was the only country to have boosted its sales last year, according to Decanter. Although the total imports to the US stagnated, Argentina increased its revenues by 30%. The exports to the US has been increasing phenomenally with
A spokesman for Catena Zapata, a winery owned by Nicolás Catena, the Decanter Man of the Year 2009, who is credited with changing the direction of Argentina's wine industry said, 'It's a positive and welcome step from the government but not the make of break of the Argentinean wine industry in 2009.
The Argentinean wine market is predominantly domestic, with only 17% of wine produced being exported. Unlike Chile, where wine has not been an integral part of the culture till recently, the Argentines love a glass of wine on the dinner table or otherwise. They had not been aggressive in exports. The poor economic conditions in the eighties and nineties at home did not help matter either.
In India too the sleeping giant seems to have woken up during the last few years with an increasing inflow of delegations and more promotional events taking place while Brand Chile has been getting well-entrenched. At the moment, Chilean wines command a premium over Argentinean wines in volume and value, though the pressure is likely to increase due to the price factor.
Says Debjit Dasgupta, country manager for Ace Beveragez, Indian distributors for Catena Zapata,’ our Catena range has seen a fantastic jump during the last couple of years. We are seeing a 60% growth this fiscal year over last year which was 50% higher than the 2006-07.’ The increase in sales and popularity is also due to the awareness of Argentina brand in India. Catena has come to be recognized as a premium brand. ‘The entry level wines from Argentina are 20% cheaper than the Chilean counterpart but equally good or better, he feels.’ Another advantage they have is that their production volumes are huge compared to their neighbour,’ adding that they are not significantly cheaper in the mid and upper range but have super quality too.
Chile knows about the aggressive designs of its neighbours and has increased their activities after a brief lull and complacence. The hugely popular Festival of Chilean wines last year, a ‘Flavours of Chile’ festival is being organized by the Chilean embassy on March 17. It will be inaugurated by the President of Chile, Ms. Michelle Bachelet followed by one-one meetings with the importers. Wines of Chile and the current Ambassador Alfonso Silva, like his predecessor Jorge Heine have been always present wherever a Chilean promotion takes place or any help is needed by the importers or consumer groups.
It is a matter of coincidence that Argentina, Chile and India have a woman President. The article should have been released on the International Women’s Day, on March 8. To all our lady readers, winemakers and other stakeholders this should be interesting news and the delay is regretted. A belated Happy Woman’s Day-editor |