Driven By Rosé, French Wine Shipments To The U.S. Rise By Double-Digits

French still wine exports to the United States advanced by an impressive 14% last year to 12.5 million cases, according to Business France, a French government agency. Export value registered an even more notable 18.4% gain to €1.13 billion ($1.39b) in 2017. Up until the beginning of this decade, total U.S. imports of all French wines had been in a long-term decline, but since then they’ve enjoyed a renaissance.

Shipments to the U.S. were once again led by the Bordeaux region, up 5.7% to 2.1 million cases last year, but the fastest-growing regions were Provence (+46%) and the Languedoc (+26%), with Provence rosé continuing to be among the hottest segments of the drinks market.

According to Impact Databank, five prominent French labels were among the fastest-growing imported wines in the U.S. last year: Vineyard Brands’ La Vieille Ferme (+25% to 447,000 cases), Gerard Bertrand (+46% to 350,000 cases), Shaw-Ross’s Chateau d’Esclans (+58% to 315,000 cases), Terlato’s M. Chapoutier (+13% to 225,000 cases), and Barton & Guestier (+33% to 200,000 cases). All of the above earned Impact “Hot Brand” honors for their 2017 performances.—Juan Banaag

Tagged : Barton & Guestier, Chateau d'Esclans, Gérard Bertrand, La Vielle Ferme, M. Chapoutier, Shaw-Ross International, Terlato, Vineyard Brands

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