Julian

Review of BC Wine Trends for 2019 Predictions

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Now that the 2019 BC Wine sales metrics <11> are available it is time to judge how I did with my BC Wine Trends for 2019 predictions.

The 2019 BC Wine Trends are summarized in the infographic below.

Here is how I would score the trends predicted for the BC Wine Market.

Headwinds! <Grade B>

  • The first full year of marijuana legalization will negatively impact lower priced wine sales. 
  • Canadians will have less disposable income. This will impact the BC Wine drinkers ability to buy premium wines.
  • Archaic interprovincial wine shipment regulations limit the shipment of BC wine to Eastern Canada.
  • Storms are appearing on the tourism front! The Chinese government is urging citizens to “fully assess the risks of going to Canada for tourism” as diplomatic tensions between the two countries escalated.
  • The costs of making BC wine continues to exceed the pace at which wineries can increase wine prices. 

Annual BC Wines sales were only 2% higher in value in 2019 but they were half a per cent lower in terms of volume. So BC wine growth did flattened in 2019 .

BC Wine Wholesale Sales Value by Quarter ($M)

However, some segment like Rose´ wines continues to see major growth.

2019 BC Wine Trends

1. BC Winery acquisitions will continue <Grade B>

BC Winery acquisitions continued in 2019, but at a slower pace.

In April, Eric Liu, the proprietor of Bench 1775 Winery purchased Stag’s Hollow Winery and Vineyard that was founded in 1992 by Larry Gerelus and Linda Pruegger.

Larry Gerelus and Linda Pruegger

 Arterra Wines Canada, Inc. (AWC) announced in July 2019 that they had acquired Culmina Family Estate Winery a premium boutique winery, founded in 2007 by Don and Elaine Triggs.

2. Rose´All Day <Grade A>

Prediction: Rosé wine will continue to increase in popularity, and there’ll be no slow-down drinking it year-round.  

BC Rose' wine growth

For all of 2019, the growth rate for BC Rosé was an incredible 24% over 2018! Some of the growth was probably due to the negative impact of smoke on 2018 BC tourism decreasing Rose’ sales that year. Total BC wholesale wines sales revenue for the 2018 summer months was actually lower than in 2017.

Most of the premium BC Rosé wines were again SOLD OUT by the end of the summer.

3. BC Wineries ramping up direct wine sales <Grade C>

In the Okanagan Valley, we are seeing a number of wineries adding full-service restaurants to their facilities. The push to sell more wine from their wine shop, wine club and restaurant is a strong business driver.

Phantom Creek Estate Winery located in Oliver has its sights set on opening in April 2020.

In Summer of 2018 Mt. Boucherie broke ground on a 15,000 square foot visitor centre, dining lounge, and private tasting room in West Kelowna.  The new restaurant is expected to open in March 2020.

Cedar Creek finished construction on the Home Block restaurant and new tasting rooms – Home Block at CedarCreek Restaurant

It is difficult to obtain information on BC winery direct sales. The anecdotal evidence we have from talking to Okanagan winemakers was that winery traffic did improve in the summer of 2019 as the valley was not subject the wildfire smoke this year. However, due to the economic downturn in Alberta, there were considerably fewer visitors than normal from that province.

The BCWI supplied the following information for winery BC VQA sales for the year ending the first quarter of 2019. Direct sales increased by < 1%. <12>

4. More Natural Wines <Grade ?>

Sperling Vineyards Amber Pinot Gris
Sperling Vineyards Amber Pinot Gris

Minimal intervention winemaking results in lighter, fresher wines made for easy drinking – and it’s a trend that’s definitely on the rise. Natural wines are already a hot topic in the wine world and don’t expect them to be going anywhere any time soon.

Again the anecdotal evidence is that natural wine sales increased.

References

  1. Wine trends of 2018: Bordeaux makes a comeback Drinks Insight September 2018
  2. BIBENDUM: TOP WINE TRENDS FOR 2019
  3. The Changing and growing Wine Writer’s Landscape.
  4. 2018 Key Wine Trends #2 – Cannabis and Wine
  5. ANDREW PELLER LIMITED 2018 Annual Report
  6. China warns citizens about ‘risks’ of visiting Canada amid escalating tensions
  7. 10 Wine trends to watch in 2019, Vivino
  8. The US Wine Industry in 2019 – Slowing but Steady, and Craving Innovation, Dr Liz Thach, MW
  9. The Wine Trends You Should Know About In 2019
  10. Silicon Valley Bank – State of the Wine Industry Report 2019
  11. Liquor Market Review – Q3- December 2019
  12. BCWI 2019 Annual Report