For red wines of the AOC Bordeaux from conventional cultivation, both the traded volume and the average price have dropped by 10% compared to the previous year. This has been reported by Vitisphere, citing the 2022/2023 campaign balance of the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB). While a steeper decline was initially expected, the simultaneous rise in costs means that any relief might be premature.
Fortunately, the prices did not plummet to the crisis distillation compensation levels of €75 per hectoliter (about $79,50). In fact, during the campaign period, 682,000 hectoliters of conventionally produced AOC Bordeaux red wines were traded at an average price of around €104 (about $104) per hectoliter.
Generic red wines of the AOC with organic certification are also facing challenges. Bulk wine sales dropped by 36% to about 16,000 hectoliters, with the average price decreasing by 9% to approximately €200 (about $188) per hectoliter – still almost twice as much as for conventional wines. It is speculated that the organic price might increase in the future due to the mildew-decimated organic harvest of 2023.
Lacking initiatives
Arthur Gaubet, a consultant for the Gironde Chamber of Agriculture, emphasizes that numerous Bordeaux wine producers are facing revenues insufficient to meet their production expenses. This is largely attributed to declining prices and substantial cost inflations, notably a 20% surge in the price of glass bottles. Without a pertinent industry agreement in place, Bordeaux wines lack a minimum pricing structure that accounts for or offsets these production costs. VM
