Bigger harvest, good quality, lower consumption – stocks rise

BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss drank slightly less wine in 2011, with consumption down by 2.3 percent to 2.72 billion hectolitres, a reverse after 2010’s increase of 3.2 percent.

Consumption has remained relatively stable overall, fluctuating between 2.07 and 2.86 for the past 10 years. But the population has been growing, which explains a gradual fall in per capita consumption.

Foreign wines continue to dominate the market, with Swiss wines representing 37 percent of wine consumed. Italy is the biggest supplier, followed by France and Spain, with 37, 23 and 21 percent respectively of imported wine.

Italian, French and US wine sales were all lower than the previous year.

French, Italian and US wine sales down

Consumers drank less Swiss, but also less foreign wine, and imports of red wine were down, although there was a very small increase in imports of white wines, figures published 19 April by the Federal Office of Agriculture (Ofag) show.

The Swiss in 2011 drank a total of 2.72 billion hectolitres of wine. (1 hectolitre = 100 litres and is the standard international wine sales measurement)

Swiss drink about 40 bottles of wine a year per inhabitant

The most recent per capita figures are from a 2009 Ofag report that showed overall Swiss alcohol consumption gradually falling, from about 11 to just under 8.5 litres of pure alcohol a year between 1989 and 2008.

Figures for wine per inhabitant fell during those 19 years, from just under 6 litres of pure alcohol to just over 4 litres. This is equal to about 400 units of alcohol, per year. A bottle of wine has anywhere from about 8 to 12 units of alcohol so the figures represent very roughly 40 bottles of wine a year per inhabitant.

Stocks rising: less wine drunk, harvest up

Stocks rose by the end of last year, thanks to a combination of lower sales and a good year, with a harvest 8.6 percent higher than in 2010.

“Favorable meteorological conditions, in particular the warm and dry spring and an exceptional autumn, had a positive impact on the quality and the volume of Swiss wines, in the end,” the Ofag report states.

Red grape varieties accounted for 58 percent of vines in 2011, white 42 percent. The three main grape varieties were Pinot Noir, Chasselas and Gamay.

They lost ground, however, to Merlot, up 20 percent, the Swiss grape Gamaret, up 9 percent and Chardonnay, up 4 percent.