Wine, in the most important markets bottled spending is returning to pre-Covid levels

The situation, in international markets, even for wine has dark colors, these days. And if things, at least in the most important countries, so far have held up, in some way, by all accounts, now will come the hardest months. And yet, a few small positive signs are being recorded. For example, the return to an average pre-Covid level of per bottle spending for domestic consumption in some of the world’s most important wine markets, according to Wine Intelligence. In the USA, for example, a small drop in the price per bottle spent in March in July 2020 would have counterbalanced a return to even slightly higher prices than before. In the UK, on the other hand, where the drop recorded was more intense, the recovery has brought things back close to the levels of before the pandemic, with a similar trend, for example, to Canada or Australia. According to the British agency, again, Germany has confirmed itself as a market refractory to sudden changes, both during and after the lockdown, with spending for a bottle of wine by regular consumers substantially stable, while the best news comes from China, the country that first suffered the crisis and that first began to emerge from it, and where a slight increase in average spending per bottle recorded already in a full emergency, was added to further growth in July, a sign of a sentiment that turns positive. Exactly the opposite of what is happening, for example, in Sweden, where a decrease in average expenditure per bottle in March would follow a further decline. Signals to be taken with care, but which can serve to restore some confidence to the industry.