|
|
According to the association, the sales of the Prädikat wine estates were around 34 million bottles last year. The wineries were again able to slightly increase the average price per bottle. It is currently around 9.70 euros for estate wines and 12.70 euros for local wines. Accordingly, wines from first vineyards fetch 17 euros, and the average price for "Große Gewächse" and wines from "Große Lagen" is now 32 euros. According to the association's figures, these top wines account for 15 per cent of sales - in terms of volume, however, they only reach 5 per cent. The total turnover of all Prädikat wine estates amounted to about 323 million euros in 2016.
According to the VDP, the sales figures in Germany also show a slight upward trend: in 2016, about 77 percent of VDP wines were sold in Germany. Direct sales from the winery were in first place with 42 per cent, with five per cent of sales already being made via the wineries' online shops. Stationary trade, which at 35 per cent is the second most important sales channel for VDP goods, "clearly lost shares" to online trade in 2016. The gastronomy sector, which is responsible for 17 per cent of VDP domestic sales, is also "increasingly making use of the versatile trade structures and no longer purchases its wines directly from the winery". Therefore, a total of ten per cent of VDP wines are now sold online, i.e. from the winery as well as via external shops. The pure online wine traders are thus "clearly in competition with the established specialised trade and direct sales in the wineries' own shops".
According to the 2016 figures, sales abroad increased in percentage terms to 23 per cent, as the larger harvest volumes of the past two years meant that demand in the upmarket bottled wine segment could once again be adequately met. The most important export markets for the VDP are still Benelux, the USA and Scandinavia. Especially in the Scandinavian markets, there is a great demand for organically grown wines. Currently, the VDP estates cultivate twelve per cent of the organic vineyards in Germany. Eastern Europe also offers interesting markets, but "market entry is not made easy".
The association sees Asia, especially China, as an "emerging future market with great potential". However, export processing is complicated here. Language barriers and other hurdles require a lot of effort to maintain business contacts.
(uka / Photo: VDP)