by Sophie Kevany
 
Burgundy, the French region that exports the largest percentage of its wines, had a record-breaking year in 2007, but has been hit by dollar weakness in the first part of 2008.
 
Export values for 2007 were up 21% on 2006. The total sales value for the year was €718m, for a volume of 110m bottles, the second time the region has broken the million bottle mark, according to figures from the Burgundy Wine Board (Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne, BIVB).

“The 2005 vintage has been very much in demand and the Pinot Noir phenomenon, particularly in America, has been great for Burgundy,” said Frederic Dupray of the BIVB. Dupray also said there was increasing demand for Burgundy’s fizzy wines, known as crémant de Bourgogne.

The main buyers of Burgundy are the US and the UK, but Dupray said there is a growing demand from Sweden, Finland and Norway, as well as Asia, notably Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea.

The first three months of 2008 however showed a drop in export volumes of about 3%, but an increase in value of about 4% to 5%.

Both factors, Dupray judged, can be attributed to the higher costs of imports and lower stocks, both overseas and in Burgundy, which are pushing buyers to pay more for the same wine, or buy better wines as volumes decrease.

In a recent newsletter from the Burgundy producer Albert Bichot, the slowing of sales in 2008, after two ‘remarkable’ years, was also attributed to a weak dollar, which has pushed prices up by about 16%, the generally morose economic situation and the higher prices of the 2007 vintage.