"Wine Craze"... Last Year's Wine Import Value Surpasses 700 Billion Won

Wine Import Value $581.26 Million... 4% Increase YoY
France and US, Premium Regions, Rank 1st and 2nd in Wine Imports

Last year, the domestic wine import value exceeded 700 billion KRW, setting another record high. In particular, the preference for French and American wines, led by premium regions such as Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Napa Valley, has become prominent, strengthening the two-top system.

According to the Korea Customs Service export-import trade statistics on the 17th, last year's wine import value was recorded at 581.26 million USD (approximately 718.7 billion KRW). This is a 3.8% increase compared to 559.81 million USD in 2021. In recent years, the wine import value has been increasing rapidly. After surpassing the 200 million USD mark for the first time in 2017, it gradually accelerated, exceeding 300 million USD in 2020, and in 2021, it showed an explosive growth of nearly 70% compared to the previous year, quickly surpassing 500 million USD. Despite the high growth in the previous year, last year continued the growth trend, proving the recent wine craze.

On the other hand, last year's import volume was 71,020 tons, a 7.3% decrease compared to the previous year. The wine import volume, which was around 40,292 tons in 2018, grew proportionally with the import value to 43,495 tons in 2019, 54,127 tons in 2020, and 76,575 tons in 2021. However, despite the increase in import value last year, the import volume decreased, indicating a transition from quantitative growth to qualitative growth.

By country of origin, France ranked overwhelmingly first. Last year, the import value of French wine was 203.35 million USD (approximately 251.7 billion KRW), increasing by 12.3% compared to the previous year and surpassing 200 million USD for the first time ever. Following France, the United States also surpassed 100 million USD with an import value of 102.67 million USD (approximately 127.1 billion KRW), a 13.2% increase. France and the United States, representing the Old World and New World premium wine regions respectively, are leading the recent trend of premiumization in wine consumption, as their import volumes decreased despite double-digit increases in import value.

While demand for French wine continues to hit record highs, the import volumes from Italy and Spain, two of the world's top three wine-producing countries along with France, declined, showing mixed fortunes. Last year, wine imports from Italy and Spain were 86.05 million USD and 36.27 million USD respectively, down 4.9% and 12.4% from the previous year. Chilean wine, ranked fourth in import value, brought in 14,291 tons, the highest import volume, maintaining its reputation as a producer of cost-effective wines. Additionally, Australia (32.3 million USD), New Zealand (15.47 million USD), Argentina (11.02 million USD), and Germany (7.31 million USD) were among the top 10 countries.

As wine imports increase, the diversity of consumed wines is also progressing. While the overall market expanded, last year's red wine import value was 353.76 million USD, slightly down from 356.14 million USD the previous year, but white wine increased slightly from 103.79 million USD to 105.22 million USD, showing diversification from a red wine-dominated market to include white and ros? wines.

In particular, the increase in sparkling wine imports such as Champagne and Prosecco is notable. Last year's sparkling wine import value reached 98.44 million USD (approximately 122.1 billion KRW), a 26.5% increase from 2021, approaching 100 million USD, and the import volume also rose by 25.7% to 8,452 tons, showing progress both quantitatively and qualitatively. Considering that sparkling wines are mainly consumed as aperitifs or celebratory drinks in a light and casual manner, it is interpreted that the domestic wine drinking culture is rapidly becoming part of everyday life.