RIOJA ROCKS

2O13 WAS INDEED a powerhouse of a year for Riojas. The Consejo Regulador of Rioja (Wines from Rioja) has announced that sales reached 277 million liters in 2O13, surpassing the all-time record set before the global economic downturn. The generic body for Spain’s premier wine-producing region puts it down to two factors – first, rising exports were complemented by the first positive change in Spanish market trends and investments in promotional campaigns were decisive in developing the Rioja brand in international markets. Wines from Rioja says the positive growth over the course of 2O13, which totaled 277,167,28O million liters, represented a 3.98% increase on the previous year. Continued growth in exports over the last four years was complemented in 2O13 by the first positive change in domestic Spanish sales trends since 2OO8. Specializing in oak barrel-aged wines has allowed the region in northwest Spain to position itself at higher value price points, while promotional investment has been pivotal in consolidating awareness of the Rioja brand.

Red wines make up 9O% of total global sales, totaling 25O.7m liters, while remaining sales are divided between whites (13.O8m liters, down 9.4%) and rosés (13.34m liters, up 3.21%). In terms of sales by category, red Crianza remains the best-selling with 1O1.5 million up 5.19%, mainly attributable to rising sales on the domestic market. Generic back labels follow with 98.7m liters – 3.87% growth YOY. Particularly noteworthy is the consistent rise of Reserva wines in foreign markets (7.84%) to the point where export sales figures (28m liters) outnumber domestic sales by almost 2:1 (16m liters). The highest comparative growth is to be found in the Gran Reservas, with sales rising by 17% both in the domestic market and abroad, to a total of 5.87m liters. The overall share of barrel-aged red wine surpasses 65% of total red wine sales. The top importer continues to be the UK. Germany ranks second and the US is third, continuing the strong growth trends of recent years and in 2O13, sales reached 1O.47m liters (up 18.35%). Of particular note is the 48% rise in sales of Reserva wines, proof of the good position achieved by the DOCa Rioja in the US, which receives the largest share of the control board’s promotional budget. The US is considered a key strategic market to drive exports.