Isn’t it just great to read Good News! The Austrian Wine Marketing Board has just released export numbers for 2020 that make fascinating reading.

Their Export Value increased by 2.4% to a record value of €187.3 million. This is quite brilliant. Just as on-trade establishments the world over closed down Austrian wine, which sells at premium price levels, increased its exports by value and get this INCREASED by Volume by a whopping 6.3% to 67.4 million litres.

Alongside the main export market of Germany, the other key markets of Switzerland and the Netherlands also showed upward trends. While the USA and Asia declined, the monopoly markets of Scandinavia and Canada showed particularly strong growth.

Austrian Wine Marketing Board

Principal reasons given for this stellar performance are varied. One is that there was great demand for bottled red wine. About time the world cottoned on to the fact that some of Austria’s reds are every bit as brillliant their whites! Try a Zweigelt this weekend. Better still, listen to our podcast recording at Kevin Ecock’s Winepod – ‘The Brilliant Domäne Wachau in Austria: a Podcast with Winemaker Roman Horvath MW‘

Anothre significant factor given was that More Wine was Exported via Trade Channels – ‘The greater increase in export volume compared to value indicates that less Austrian wine was distributed in the international on-trade market because of pandemic restrictions, while more was sold via online and offline sales channels such as multiple grocers and wine specialists’.

Where did it all go to? Well, while we know some of it arrived here the Austrian Wine Marketing Board has given us a neat map!

BTW: While Gruner Veltliner white wines will, justifiably, continue to dominate our shelves I’m not joking about Zweigelt. Here it is in all its grape majesty!