KEY POINTS:
New Zealand wines are growing their market share of the United States faster than those from any other country, albeit from a small base.
A new survey by ACNielsen showed New Zealand wine sales annual growth was over 45 per cent, against the next best growth rate of 36 per cent from South African wines.
New Zealand wines hold just 0.8 per cent share of dollar sales, according to the Nielsen wine study of US off-premise liquor stores.
"This is an outstanding result for New Zealand wine exporters. New Zealand wines are now outgrowing all comers in the lucrative but very competitive US market," said Michael Walton of ACNielsen New Zealand.
US domestic wine still holds a hefty majority share (70.5 per cent) of the wine market with growth of 9 per cent, but this growth is less than most of the imported wine countries.
Other countries such as Germany, Spain and Argentina also experienced growth over 20 per cent.
Apart from US producers, Australian wines hold the biggest market share with 10 per cent. However, continued pressure on Australian wine prices has resulted in relatively weak sales growth of 4 per cent.
The news for New Zealand wine exporters looks even rosier when examining the choices American wine consumers are now making, said Mr Walton.
Three of the top seven styles of wine in double digit growth are styles that New Zealand excelled in -- pinot noir, pinot gris and sauvignon blanc (also known as fume blanc in the US).
He said US consumers were increasing spending per bottle and the big growth was in sales of wine above US$9.00 ($13) a bottle, which is where New Zealand wines are positioned.
Wine sales growth of 10.4 per cent was the fastest in groceries after bottled water.
- NZPA
