just-drinks.com editorial team – Exchange rate losses on wine exports have forced Australian Vintage to cut its net profits forecast for the current financial year.
Australian Vintage said today (26 May) that it expects net profits after tax to increase by 75% for the 12 months to the end of June, compared to the same period last year.
The McGuigan wines producer predicted in February that full-year profits, before one-off items, would double. But, an unfavourable rate for the Australian dollar against sterling (GBP) has taken some of the shine off the wine group’s resurgence. Continue reading “AUS: Australian Vintage lowers profits forecast”
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Unsold wine in tanks, wineries shutting down and vineyards being uprooted. It’s not a pretty picture for India’s infant wine industry as it bears the twin-pronged brunt of global glut and domestic roadblocks. That was the backdrop against which India’s first National Wine Conference was held in New Delhi last week and, if anything, the meet underlined fears that the country’s wine sector is in a ‘make or break’ situation.
“Tell me what needs to be done, I am looking to you for a solution”, said India’s Minister for Food Processing, Subodh Kant Sahai, while appealing to stakeholders at the conference. Continue reading “Focus – Indian Wine Sector in Damage Control”
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| Blackmailer threatened to poison vines |
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A blackmailer threatened to poison vines at one of Burgundy’s most famous wineries, Romanee-Conti, unless it agreed to pay EUR1m, according to a local report.
Romanee-Conti received a series of letters threatening its world-renowned vines unless it agreed to pay up.
Aubert de Villaine, co-manager of the Romanee-Conti estate, told the Agence France Presse newswire yesterday (6 May) that police arrested a suspect on 22 February. He said that the letters instructed management to leave the money at a nearby cemetery.
Romanee-Conti is regularly a top seller at some of the world’s most prestigious fine wine auctions.
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| Chile and New Zealand stand out in a tough year |
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just-drinks brings you export figures for the major wine producer countries in 2009, courtesy of a report supplied this week by Rabobank. All figures are in local currencies and sourced from national industry trade bodies.
- France reported a 9% fall in volume and a 19% fall in value.
- Spain reported a 10% fall in volume a 13.5% fall in value.
- Italy rose 6% in volume but fell 6% in value, making the best ‘Old World’ performer.
- The US saw exports fall 15% in volume and 10% in value.
- In South America, Argentina dropped 32% in volume and 1.6% in value.
- Chile rose by 18% in volume and crept up 0.1% in value.
- Australia rose by 9.4% in volume but slipped 8% in value.
- New Zealand performed the best, rising by 34% in volume and 13% in value.
- South Africa fell by 4.4% in volume. Value figures were not given.
Source: Stuart Todd -
After 18 months of continuous decline, Burgundy wine exports increased by almost 6% in volume in the final quarter of 2009, according to regional wine trade body BIVB.
Exports in 2009 as a whole decreased by 15.7% in volume on the previous year, to 78.6m bottles. Value exports were down 22.1% to EUR496m (US$663.7m).
However, BIVB pointed to a resurgence in the final three months, particularly in December.
The trade body noted that the fall in exports for the year had been less sharp than originally feared. But, it added: “Burgundy has suffered from its mid to top-of-the-range positioning and its very strong links with the UK and the US.” www.just-drinks.com
just-drinks.com editorial team – Charges related to an oversupply of wine in New Zealand have dragged New Zealand Wine Co into the red for its fiscal half-year. New Zealand’s wine industry is being “severely tested” by an oversupply of wine, New Zealand Wine Company warned yesterday (25 February).
The firm reported net losses of NZD646,000 (US$447,000) for the six months to the end of December, compared to profits of NZD1.28m in the same period of 2008. Lower grape prices, as a result of oversupply, forced the group to lower the value of vineyard assets and take a NZD1bn charge in the half-year. It wrote down a further NZD375m to reflect a fall in the value of financial assets and lower grape prices directly. Continue reading “New Zealand Wine Co sinks to half-year losses”
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Wines of Germany has relaunched its website for UK trade and consumers.
The trade body said this week that the site, which benefits from an “interactive layout and expanded content”, provides direct links to retailers’ websites to enable consumers to buy direct.
Visitors will also be able to search for German wines available in the UK market by alcohol level. Users can also search by colour, region and grape varietal.
“The new website is all about driving sales, education and targeting a younger audience,” said Nicky Forrest, managing director for Wines of Germany UK. “A strong digital campaign focused around our website is a key part of our communications plans for 2010.”
Retailers of German wine are invited to upload their wines on the wine searcher by registering for the new website by contacting the Wines of Germany team. Producers, importers and retailers can also submit German wine-related news for consideration for the website news pages.
Source: just-drinks.com editorial team
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| Organic vines (right) next to conventional ones (left) in France. Picture: Chris Mercer |
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Demand for organic vineyards in France is set to double within five years, according to a leading international estate agency in the wine sector.
Wine professionals are seeking out organic vineyards to reflect growing interest in wine made from organic grapes, according to Vinea Transacation, an international agency that represents 30 vineyard estate agents in several European countries.
Continue reading “FRANCE: Demand for organic vineyards soars”
just-drinks.com editorial team – The strong growth of the global wine market in the latter half of the 21st century’s first decade is set to rise slightly in 2009, despite the economic downturn.
A report by Mintel, released late last year, has forecast a slight lift in the wine market in 2009, on the back of a 3.2% decline during the height of the financial crisis in 2008. The wine market has grown by 20% from 2004 to 2009, the report notes, with the market forecast to stabilise and increase by 2.1% in 2009. Continue reading “Research – Wine growth to continue in ’09 despite downturn”
just-drinks.com editorial team - The ruling council for Beaujolais Nouveau wines is considering a ban on wineries replacing glass bottles with PET bottles and cartons, in order to protect the wine region’s image. A spokesperson for Inter Beaujolais, the regional wine council, confirmed to just-drinks today (24 November) that wineries could be restricted to packaging their Beaujolais Nouveau wines in glass. Continue reading “FRANCE: Beaujolais Nouveau may ban wine in plastic bottles”
just-drinks.com editorial team – Champagne house Vranken-Pommery Monopole has reported heavier losses in the first half of 2009, but sales outperformed some of its rivals in the sector. Net sales for the six months to the end of June fell to EUR83m (US$118.8m), compared to EUR90.3m in the same period of 2008, Vranken-Pommery Monopole said today (1 September). Continue reading “FRANCE: Vranken-Pommery Monopole sales drop, losses deepen”
just-drinks.com editorial team – Yesterday (27 August), Diageo reported its full-year results. Although the company managed to hit its full-year guidance, the group’s warning that this year will be tough suggests that Diageo has its work cut out in fiscal 2010. Speaking exclusively to just-drinks yesterday afternoon, group CEO Paul Walsh talks about the trials and tribulations of the past 12 months – including, of course, the ongoing row in Scotland. Continue reading “Interview – Paul Walsh, Diageo”
just-drinks.com editorial team. The New Zealand wine industry saw a 24% increase in the value of wine exports in the year to the end of June, according to the New Zealand Winegrowers Association. Wine exports reached NZ$992m, up NZ$194m on the previous year, the trade body said today (19 August). Continue reading “NZ Wine industry sees increase in value of exports”
