Bourgogne wine exports to Japan last year have surged to a 10-year high, propped up by strong demand from the country’s female drinkers and young urbanites, the latest data from Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) has shown.
Last year, Bourgogne wine exports to Japan surpassed €120 million for the first time to reach €120.6 million, or 8 million bottles, the highest since 2012. This makes Japan the famed French wine region’s 3rd largest market by value.
Bourgogne together with Bordeaux and Champagne account for 77% of all French wine exports to the country, but Bourgogne remains the only category to have increased in record revenue.
Majority of the wines exported consist of mainly Bourgogne and Chablis AOCs, but the BIVB expects the number to expand further thanks to a growing demand for top‐of‐the‐range wines.
“The growing interest in wine in Japan and the growth of this market, driven by women and city‐dwelling young people, is encouraging optimism,” says BIVB.
Additionally, the country’s changing wine consumer profile as more young drinkers enter the market is also fuelling growth for more affordable wines.
“Those in the Bourgogne wine trade are nonetheless seeing a generational shift with more and more customers under the age of 50 for more affordable and lesser‐known Régionale and Village AOCs,” says BIVB.
Bourgogne reds were the big winners with double growth of 18.9% by volume and 15.2% in terms of revenue.
Crémant de Bourgogne wines still have a small market share with 4% of volumes exported, but were in second place in terms of growth, up 6.8% by volume and 15% in terms of revenue.
White Bourgogne wines, which accounted for most of the volume (55% in 2021), also showed growth by volume (up 4.7% on 2020), with revenue in 2021 almost the same as that in 2020 (up 0.4% on 2020).
It’s worthy to note that white Bourgogne wine exports in the first quarter this saw a decrease in volume mainly due to the very small 2021 harvest which impacted the availability of Bourgogne wines. Revenue on the other hand has grown driven by white and red Grand Crus, along with red village and village premier cru wines from Cote de Beaune.
