Historic Bourgogne house Edouard Delaunay has gained a foothold in the expansive and fast-growing Korean wine market, as it inks a partnership with Korea’s leading importer Seoul Wines & Spirits (SWS) to capture opportunities in the country’s growing premium wine sector and expanding on-trade sales.
The partnership would allow SWS, which is owned by ELAN SAS group based in Bordeaux, to leverage its strong presence in Korea’s on-trade channels to turn the 129-year-old house into “the leading premium Burgundian maison in Korea,” affirms the wine company’s Managing Director Pierre Andre Doucet.
French wines are currently leading the growth in Korea’s wine market at a time when the local market experienced explosive growth in the past two years. France exported US$162.6 million worth of wines to Korea last year, a stunning increase of 94% compared to 2020.
Korean market last year for the first time surpassed the US$500 million mark to grow more than 70% to US$526 million, making it one of the most attractive markets for wine exporters in Asia.
Lauding the Nuits-Saint-Georges-based Burgundian house as “the perfect match for SWS’ distribution model”, Doucet says, “They offer a comprehensive and wide range of appellations from Village to Grand Cru from the most famous and seek part of Burgundy (La Cote de Nuit and La Cote de Beaune). The broadness of Edouard Delaunay’s portfolio, will allow SWS to have the flexibility and bespoke approach to meet each of our client’s needs: from high quality value wine by the glass at Bistro looking venues to wine list at fine dining place. Their range of highly collectible 1er Cru and Grand Cru will also perfectly match the expectations of our wine collectors looking for exceptional wines.
“Overall, we also believe that such partnership will create synergies and mutual growth for both SWS and Edouard Delaunay. Ultimately by working closely together, we look forward to making it one of the leading premium Burgundian Maison here in Korea.”
Olivier Hui-Bon-Hoa, Asia director of Badet Clement, which owns Edouard Delaunay, adds that SWS’ expertise in Korean market and premium on-trade sector will benefit the maison’s growth.
“We are very excited to partner with Seoul Wines & Spirits (SWS) that is part of Elan SAS group based in France. With a very solid list of premium Burgundy wine estates among their comprehensive French wines portfolio, we feel that our Maison Edouard Delaunay will perfectly complete it, by its premium and boutique winery positioning while bringing a one-stop service in terms of appellations from Cote d’Or. Their solid footprint in premium On Trade and wine boutiques will allow to nicely position our Maison.
Finally the strong commitment and drive of Pierre Andre Doucet since the very beginning of SWS, combined with his 20 years of in-depth knowledge of the Korean market, his French culture and his growing SWS team, we believe are a great formula for success.”
Seoul Wines & Spirits (SWS) is a part of the ELAN SAS group based in Bordeaux, France, which specializes in the distribution of high-quality wines and spirits. Since 2013, SWS imports and distributes to hotels, restaurants, bars and boutique wine shops in Korea a large selection of wines and spirits, mainly from France but also from other countries like Italy, Spain, Argentina, New Zealand, the US and among others.
In 2021, the company opened a branch in the port city of Busan to extend its distribution.
