Argentinian wines grow 20% in off-trade

By Gemma McKenna

Published: 08 April, 2014

Argentinian wines are surging ahead in the off-trade, with growth of 20% in the last year, as the market "moves up to suit Argentina", says the European director of the country's generic body.

The South American country is also now in third place in the league tables for most expensive wine, with an average bottle coming in at £5.75, after New Zealand and France, according to Nielsen statistics gathered for the Wine & Spirit Trade Association's latest market report.

Speaking to harpers.co.uk, Wines of Argentina's Europe and Asia head Andrew Maidment said: "They've been hovering around that level for the past year - it's good that it's been sustained. A lot of countries see increases when one or two brands do a promotion, but this is longer term. We're seeing the sales increase and the average price increase at the same time.

"It's taken a long time, but the market has now moved up to a position that suits Argentina."

He said that as prices have crept up generally in supermarkets, other countries, that previously looked good value to consumers, were now starting to look expensive. "Because no-one in Argentina budged a few years ago, the market has now moved up to our sweet spot," he said.

Argentinian wines are also making in-roads in the branded wine sector, with the growth of brands like Concha y Toro's Trivento, along with Buckingham Schenk's joint venture Viñalba. Combine that with own-label growth - which Kantar Worldpanel puts at 20% for Argentina - and prospects are strong.

What's more, Argentina's flagship grape Malbec, already acts like a brand, says Maidment. It's also the "first thing people know about Argentinian wine".

"Some people question whether long-term that is what we want - that we might get pigeonholed. But we're not at saturation point if you look at our market share. It's still not an everyday wine for the vast majority."

For more on what's happening with Argentinian wine, read our Q&A later this week with Andrew Maidment.

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