Despite a challenging economic climate, Argentina's wine sales have shown resilience, declining by only 1.2% to just under 766m liters. This decrease is less pronounced than in other alcoholic beverage categories, such as beer, according to a study by the Argentinian Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (INV).
However, the sparkling wine sector has been hit particularly hard, with consumption plummeting by 25.4% last year to 94,593 hl. This drop in sparkling wine sales accounts for nearly the entire overall decline of 92,887 hl in the Argentinian wine market compared to 2023.
The data also reveals a concerning trend of declining sales in the final four months of the year, with December 2024 showing a 2.6% decrease in volume compared to the previous year.
Provisional figures from the INV study reveal a diverging trend in varietal wines. White varietals saw a 12.8% increase in volume in 2024, while red and rosé varietals experienced a 2.24% decline. Industry platform "Vinetur" added that Malbec, Argentina's flagship red grape, suffered a 3.52% drop, following a 6.2% decrease in 2023 compared to 2022.
The overall market is increasingly dominated by "wines without varietal indication," which now hold a 66.4% market share, up 1% from the previous year. Varietal wines, generally perceived as higher quality, maintained their volume at 29.6% compared to 2023, but this is down from 32.4% in 2022. Observers believe this trend will likely persist until economic conditions improve and wages rise.
Despite these shifts, Argentinian wine prices remain relatively affordable. In December 2024, the average price increase was 93% compared to the same month in the previous year, falling below the inflation rate of 117.8%. SP
