Portugal hits new UK heights

Portuguese wine built on its recent upward curve in the UK last year with a 19% rise in bottled still wine export volumes and 64% growth for sparkling wines.

Portugal’s Douro Valley wine region (Photo credit: Wines of Portugal)

The figures for 2014, based on UN Comtrade data, saw bottled still wine exports hit 10.6 million litres, with an even larger value increase of 27% to reach €25.8m. Overall still wine exports, including bulk, rose by 10% in volume and 23% in value.

In keeping with the wider UK sparkling wine trend, exports of Portuguese fizz rose to 56,577 litres during 2014 with a total value of €1,060,691.

The increase sees Portuguese wine build on an overall value increase of 14.7% in exports to the UK during 2013, when ViniPortugal highlighted the challenge of keeping track of accurate sales figures due to the country’s strong presence in the independent sector.

Commenting on this latest uplift, ViniPortugal president Jorge Monteiro said: “Consumers are increasingly searching for authenticity and heritage which suits Portugal very well. We are uniquely placed to give UK customers a new, authentic alternative while also providing great value for money.”

Helping export growth in 2014 was major investment in the UK market by some of Portugal’s largest wine brands such as Mateus, whose owner Sogrape backed the launch of two new ranges last year with a £2m marketing spend.

This year’s activities at a generic level will see ViniPortugal host a pop-up wine bar during London Wine Week in May, as well as taking 15 sommeliers on a visit to the country as part of its “Wine Quest” programme. Meanwhile autumn 2015 will see a series of competitions take place within the independent sector.