Wine exports up by two-thirds

Wine exports have surged by almost two-thirds during the past six months and are expected to continue at this rate for the remainder of the year, producers say.

Latest export figures from industry body New Zealand Winegrowers show a 93 per cent jump in sauvignon blanc exports, a 62 per cent leap in pinot noir sales while sparkling wine exports are up 27 per cent.

New Zealand Winegrowers chief executive Philip Gregan said growth on this scale had been "expected and hoped for".

The overall surge of 64 per cent followed a record 2004 harvest so the impending 2005 crop would have to be "significantly smaller" for exports to drop from these peaks.

Such a large harvest meant winemakers could meet demand from large customers, who had previously wanted more product than could be produced. The one negative in the industry now was the impact of the high kiwi dollar, which was cutting earnings per litre of wine sold.

Allied Domecq Wines NZ (formerly Montana) spokesman Zirk van den Berg said that, despite the growth, producers would not have much difficulty moving the stock.

This is in direct contrast to Australia, where producers such as Lion Nathan have been forced to write down the value of their wine stocks.

Van den Berg said New Zealand wine was aimed at the premium market, which was less susceptible to changes in supply and demand. The links producers had made with the international drinks giants created a solid route to overseas markets.

"For the past few years, we have not been able to satisfy demand; these big harvests bring supply and demand into balance."

Van den Berg said it was too early to determine the impact of the recent cool weather on the harvest.

The "odd" summer had not made an appreciable impact on the company's main growing areas of Gisborne and Hawkes Bay.

And things were stacking up for a "bumper crop" in Marlborough, but weather conditions there, which had been cold and wet, would probably lead to at least an average crop.

White wine was the only type that made it to the table in the year of harvest, so production variations could be aligned in later years.

New Zealand is not the only country enjoying a surge in wine exports, as recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show.

Revenue from Australian wine exports in November increased at the fastest monthly rate for more than two years, boosted by a big growth in sales to the UK, Canada and New Zealand, reports the Bloomberg news agency.

More than A$211 million of wine was exported in November, a jump of 32 per cent on the same month the year before. This came from a 37 per cent jump in the volume of exports, with 52.5 million litres exported. By comparison, New Zealand exported 31.10 million litres for the 12 months to the end of June 2004 - the biggest year on record.

Setting up Dynasty

A Chinese winemaker is launching an initial public offering to raise up to US$100 million to fund expansion.

Dynasty Fine Wines, a joint venture between Chinese conglomerate Tianjin Development and France's Remy Cointreau, will begin a roadshow on Monday.

In December, Tianjin said it would use the proceeds to increase production capacity and expand its Chinese and European sales network.

Tianjin owns about two-thirds of Dynasty while Remy controls the remainder.

- REUTERS