WARSAW: The Portuguese wine industry will invest €13 million to promote the country’s wine abroad next year, with 24% to be focused on the US.
Wine association ViniPortugal will contribute €6.5 million to the initiative, which will also focus on boosting sales in Canada, China, Russia, Switzerland and Poland under the marketing title ‘Wines of Portugal’.
The promotional initiative will consist of B2B events based on visits from importers, wine tastings tailored to each market, trade fairs for consumers as well as education for professionals in the hotel and catering sector.
ViniPortugal president Jorge Monteiro said the aim of the plan is to give value to Portuguese wines through an investment in wine tourism and by adopting a more professional attitude with improved communication.
He said: “We are already recognised with respect as an important player in traditional trade, with a consistent and sustainable quality, ranked ninth in the world ranking, behind New Zealand and ahead of countries like South Africa and Argentina.”
Earlier this year ViniPortgugal revealed that volume exports of Portuguese wine increased by more than a quarter in the last five years, thanks to export destinations such as Canada, Germany and the UK.
The US remains the most important export market for Portuguese wines, with annual compound growth by volume increasing by 9.2% between 2011 and 2016.
Recent figures show that Angola recorded a 102.2% increase in volumes of imported Portuguese wines in the past year and a 99.4% rise in value. Monteiro said he expects the total value of Portuguese wine exports to reach €800 million this year.
