Feb 08 2010
FRANCE: Weak exports drag Champagne down in ‘09 – figures
Stuart Todd – Champagne sales fell by 9% to 293.3m bottles in 2009, as a stable performance in France failed to offset weaker demand in export markets, show official figures from trade body Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins de Champagne (CIVC).
Value sales fell 17% for the 12 months, compared to 2008, CIVC said today (8 February). Around 181m bottles were sold in France, equal to a year ago, but exports to EU countries fell 17.4 % to 70.6m bottles, with the most marked declines in the UK, Italy and Spain.
Exports to the rest of the world slumped by 25.1% to 41.7m bottles. The US and Japan reported significant declines, while Russia, China, India and Brazil did not deliver the growth hoped for. However, the CIVC said that industry leaders believe the sector is poised for recovery in 2010. CIVC reported 6% rises in global volume sales in the final two months of 2009.


Richard Woodard – Collapsed wine merchant Cockburns of Leith has been rescued by a drinks wholesaler owned by former Glasgow Rangers Football Club chairman Sir David Murray. Edinburgh Wine Importers acquired the Cockburns name, customer listings, book debts and some of the stock from Ernst and Young, who took over when the company went into administration a week ago.
The LIWF celebrates its 30th anniversary in May 2010, and you can be sure that the world’s most important wine trade event will once again deliver a remarkable experience. For importers, merchants, producers, agents, restaurateurs, wholesalers, sommeliers, in fact everyone whose work brings them in direct contact with wine and spirits, no other event offers the same opportunity to taste, meet with suppliers and winemakers and get down to business as the LIWF.
Lucy Shaw – Sibaritas, the Spanish consumer wine magazine edited by José Peñin, has suspended publication after 18 years. In its heyday the monthly magazine attracted contributors such as Jancis Robinson, Michel Bettane and Victor de la Serna, and came to be seen as the key authority on Spanish wine.
By John Abbott – Asia is the future of the global wine industry, and will grow at a faster rate than North America, according to new figures released by Vinexpo. In a new study commissioned by Vinexpo to coincide with this year’s Vinexpo Asia-Pacific, the International Wine and Spirits Record (IWSR) has predicted the trends of the Asian wine and spirits markets up to 2013.
By Lucy Shaw – English sparkling wine Nyetimber has beaten the likes of Bollinger and Louis Roederer to be named Champion of Worldwide Sparking Wines at an Italian competition. Nyetimber’s Classic Cuvée 2003, which costs around £25, came top in the blind tasting at the Bollicine del Mondo competition in Verona, run by Italian wine magazine Euposia.
Caroline Gilby