Montana may be new top N.Z. wine exporter to U.S.

Press, 29 July 1987, Page 26

Montana may be new top N.Z. wine exporter to U.S.

By

JOHN HUTCHISON

in San Francisco

Montana appears to be replacing Corbans as the principal supplier of New Zealand wine in the United States, but the market share is still too small to register as a tenth of 1 per cent of all wine imports. Figures compiled from Government and Industry sources by “Wines and Vines,” an authoritative United States trade magazine, show that about 130,000 litres of New Zealand wine were imported into the United States in 1986, of which 87,400 litres were table wines. The remainder was tabulated as about 4000 litres of “dessert" wines and 38,000 litres of “other special, natural wines”

otherwise undescribed. But the firm now importing Corbans wines will cease to do so soon. William David, of Preiss International, in Southern California, . expressed discontent with Corbans management but did not offer clarification. The northern California distributor expressed surprise that Preiss International will no longer be its supplier, but said, “We have been having some trouble getting the varieties we want”

Wade Nichols, an importer in Phoenix, Arizona, imports one Montana wine, a Chardonnay — under the St Philippe label originated by Penfold’s and now being redesigned. Mr Nichols said that he sold more than

10,000 cases (90,000 litres) of Montana wine last year and that sales are increasing. He sells by mail order in California and to dealers in the states of Washington, Oregon, Utah and Arizona. Mr Nichols’ relationship with Montana came when that company acquired Penfolds.

New Zealand wines barely supply a few drops in the torrent of wine imported to the United States. Wine imports from all nations totaled more than 400 million litres, with Italy accounting for 55 per cent of that and France trailing with 16 per cent. West Germany, Spain and Portugal are next. Australia, far down the list, which exports 10 times as much wine to the

United States as New Zealand, still only provides 0.3 per cent of the imports. California produced more than 90 per cent of the wine made in' the United States in 1986 — about 1650 million litres — and shipped about 27 million litres abroad, mainly to Canada, Great Britain and Japan. After three years of depressed sales, the state saw its wine market regain its health in 1985 and last year. Sparkling wines and “coolers,” which are wines blended with fruit juices and natural flavours, have given strength to wine sales, countering the poor sales performance of common flagon wines.