Foreigners quaff kiwi wine

By Dita De Boni

Wine is heading for more lucrative niche markets overseas while the domestic scene is awash with cheaper foreign varieties, according to figures released by Statistics New Zealand yesterday.

The total volume of wine available increased by 4.2 per cent to 70.2 million litres in the year to September, boosted largely by a 2.2 million litre increase in imports.

Imported wine - coming from countries like Argentina and Australia - is often undercutting domestic wine on price and making a sizable contribution to the overall 5 per cent increase in table wine available.

New Zealand wine released to the home market increased only slightly while exports rose by 19.8 per cent in the same period.

Brewers responded to declining demand, with beer production falling 3.2 per cent to 309.7 million litres while spirit-based drinks - especially the popular ready-to-drink mixes - helped the total spirits category grow 10.9 per cent.

The volume of cigarettes on sale declined 4.3 per cent but volumes of loose leaf tobacco continued last year's increase, suggesting more consumers are "rolling-their-own" over buying increasingly expensive tailor-made cigarettes.