Bourgogne thriving in tough Hong Kong market

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 10 February, 2020

Wines from the Bourgogne region grew last year by both volume and value in the key Hong Kong market – even as French wine exports fell overall.

Exports rose 11.2% by value and 8.2% by volume for the first 11 months of 2019 on a year-on-year basis, hitting €61.8m (£57.8m) and 1.08 million bottles respectively.

At the same time, exports of French wine overall were falling, with volumes down 18% and revenues down 24% in the 10 months to the end of October 2019.

Wines from Bourgogne accounted for 16% of all French AOC wine exports by value to Hong Kong for the 11 months to end November 2019, and 10% by volume.

Hong Kong is now the fourth biggest market by value worldwide for Bourgogne wines and the 11th biggest by volume. The city is the eighth largest importer of still wines by value in the world.

Exports of white wine from the region performed particularly strongly, up 10% by volume and 15% by value, while red wine grew 6.4% and 10% respectively.

Hong Kong imports marginally more Bourgogne white wine than red – 49.8% to 49.6% in terms of volume. Very little of the region’s sparkling wine, Crémant de Bourgogne, is sold, accounting for just 0.6% of imports.

However, the higher premium placed on red wine means it accounts 75% of the region’s sales revenue in the market.

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