A sharp drop in consumption for still and sparkling wine in South Korea begs the question: should exporters start to look elsewhere? South Korea’s potential as the next hot ticket for wine has stalled. Consumption of still wines in the country was down by a quarter in 2023, having already dropped by 10% the previous year, market data from IWSR has revealed. Sparkling wine consumption saw positive growth in 2022, surging 21%, but the gains were wiped out with a 16% loss in 2023. The sharp downturn is in stark contrast to the wider trend in South Korea’s wine market; between 2016 and 2021, sparkling wine volumes more than doubled. The country’s still wine market in 2021 and 2022 was more than twice what it was in 2008. South Korea has in recent years been pegged as a key growth market, particularly for producers entering the Asian market. Chilean, French, and Italian wines have driven much of the growth in consumption among South Korean consumers. In July, Korean consumers were ranked fourth among 20 major global markets for monthly splurge purchasing, with the majority of spending centred around premium alcoholic beverages, a Deloitte report found. The report showed that such conspicuous consumption in the food and beverage sector is about three to four times higher compared to spending on household items. Korean consumers are spending a significant amount more (US$59) on average each month on luxury items and experiences than the average over all 20 markets ( US$41). However, this positive
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine
