It could be heartening news for the Indian importers and consumers that their favourite Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough is getting cheaper due to an excess crop this year.
The average price of a bottle is down by a third on last year, with some brands discounted even further to half the price of last year, according to tvnz.
A bumper harvest last year means there's now an oversupply of wine. "There has been so much development in the industry, especially in Marlborough, that it was inevitable it was going to catch up with supply and demand," says Blair Gibbs, of Wine Marlborough.
The oversupply coupled with weakening international demand is forcing winemakers to slash prices, some quality bottles going for half the price they were last year.
"This is wine that in other years when the vintage wasn't as high yielding would have gone into the winery's own label and sold at top quality, top price under their corporate label. With the excess juice, we are able to buy that juice in bulk and put it into our own labels and sell it at greatly reduced pricing," says a bulk buyer.
The increasing cost of producing Sauvignon Blanc is making winegrowers in Marlborough think twice about harvesting all their grapes this year and as the market gets more competitive it's quality rather than quantity that is preferred.
Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has come a long way from the days of Cloudy Bay in the eighties and is becoming increasingly popular in India thanks partly to the efforts of the New Zealand High Commission in India. Several new brands like Forrest, Selini Estate, Seresin and Huia have entered the market successfully. Sula has recently introduced Kim Crawford.
Confirming the trend Dharti Desai CEO of Finewinesnmore said she was negotiating with the Estates for 2009-10 and would pass whatever the reduction she manages to her clients.
The prices may come down in India in a few months but the bargain hunters in New Zealand are having a great time partying at the Marlborough Wine Festival right now, this weekend
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