Australia’s bulk wine market remains steady with good demand for 2018 and 2019 entry-level varietal reds as well as generic reds, according to the latest global market report by Ciatti Global Wine & Grape Brokers.

Regular inquiries from domestic, Chinese and European buyers continue to flow in, the July report said, with 2019 Chardonnay and generic whites also popular.

“Many wineries have finalised their allocations and are releasing smaller volumes of 2019 red wines – the well-priced material is being purchased quickly,” the reported notes, while “2018 entry-level inventory is almost completed depleted”.

Ciatti’s Robert Selby described the current global bulk wine supply picture as “a mosaic, with big inventories in California and Argentina, low inventories in South Africa and Australia, [and] everywhere else positioned between, and some markets busier than others”.

“In short, 2019 is continuing the balanced supply-demand dynamic that 2018 reintroduced into the global market following 2017’s supply shortage,” he said.

Selby also noted:

• increase in international interest in Argentina through June from around the world (mainly non-European countries such as Canada, China and South Africa), competing with neighbour Chile for attention with buyers sometimes playing them off against each other for optimal pricing, thus the market for Chilean wine has cooled slightly.
• Californian and South African bulk wine markets remain sluggish, partly because the former has  ample inventory and the latter has little to none; Californian prices have fallen and at their lowest level in five years

The full report can be viewed here