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Wine producers in several European countries are demanding higher prices. The reasons for this are the very small harvests in some areas and, according to vintners, the sharp rise in costs for energy, packaging and wages. In France, winegrowers expect a shortage of white wines, especially Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, due to the partly drastic decline in harvests. The chairman of the French association of winegrowers with protected geographical indication (PGI), Gérard Bancillon, cites another reason: "Environmental standards are constantly being raised, but the additional effort is not compensated". He calls for a "significant increase" in prices and the establishment of a trade reserve to balance peaks and troughs in supply and demand.
Gerhard Wohlmuth, chairman of the agricultural trade and chairman of the wine trade in the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ), has also announced price increases. He justifies his position in an e-mail with "considerable increases in the price of electricity, gas, fuel, labels, packaging, paper and glass" as well as rising wage costs. Wohlmuth explained: "For a very long time, many companies did not pass on the price increases for individual inputs. In view of the exorbitant increase in production costs that farms are currently facing, it may be unavoidable for individual companies to pass on some of the costs as well."
Wine prices in Germany will also rise. Already in September 2021, for example, the Württemberg winegrowing president Hermann Hohl had announced the increases at the autumn press conference of his association with the same arguments as Wohlmuth and Bancillon.
According to the market forecast of the German Federal Statistical Office, some strong increases are also to be expected in Italy. According to its calculation, the average price per litre will increase by almost 20 per cent from the current 7.24 euros to 8.67 euros in the coming year.
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(al / Source: vitisphere, Der Winzer; Photo: pixabay)