Wines produced outside of France are making headways on iDealwine. A change of tastes? A result of our growing worldwide reach? Without a doubt. But this phenomenon is also changing the lives of winemakers who go abroad for training before taking over or creating their own wineries. And on iDealwine, we’re seeing sales of wines from countries other than France increasing, both at auction and at fixed price.
The progression of non-French wines at iDealwine’s auctions
In 2022, wines from beyond France and Italy (because we analysed the sales of Italian wines separately) represented 1.8% of auction sales in terms of volume and 1% in value with 3,560 bottles sold (when scaled to 750ml) for an average price of €106. We generally saw red and amber wines as well as recent vintages (thanks in part to an increase in New World wines) passing through our auction house doors And what were the most attractive countries? Spain with Vega Sicilia, the United States of America with Screaming Eagle (a bottle from 2012 sold for €4,092 (+8%)), Germany with its Rieslings and Australia. We also welcomed wine from countries far away from France such as Japan and its wines from the Beau Paysage domain.
And now to take a closer look at Italy. A true gold mine for wine enthusiasts on the quest for varied and well-made wines (that are increasingly being produced using organic, biodynamic and natural winemaking methods), Italy became iDealwine’s 8th “region” at auction in 2022. With 5,583 bottles exchanged – an increase of 32% – Italian wines represented 61% of all non-French wines sold at auction on iDealwine with an average price of €105 (a rise of 16%). The country’s star wine was a bottle of Sassicaia 1985 which went under the hammer for €2,170. And the regions of Tuscany and Piedmont seem to be taking over the auctions, amounting to 51% of Italian wines being sold. We can explain this increase in Italian wines by the fact that iDealwine has been sourcing more wines from collections based there.
The progression of non-French wines in iDealwine’s fixed-price section
Since her arrival at iDealwine, Eloïse, a purchaser at the company, has grown the selection of wines from countries other than France sold at a fixed price on the website. This was after having previously worked with a prestigious portfolio of international wines in New York. This experience allowed her to refine her knowledge about these wines, especially those from the New World.
Eloïse is working her socks off to bring you the very best of wines produced outside of France. We sat down with her and asked her a few questions over a cup of coffee.
Eloïse, what is the proportion of wines produced outside of France on iDealwine today?
“Non-French wines represents 10% of our turnover at the moment; that’s an increase of 2%. And in terms of volumes sold, that equals 7%. To give you a clearer picture, Burgundy and Bordeaux are out in front, leading the way, followed by the Rhône Valley, Champagne and non-French wines. The latter three “regions” all account for the same proportion of our turnover.”
How do you shine a light on the non-French wines that can be found on the iDealwine website?
“Each month, at least two wineries from outside of France feature as one of our ‘Wineries of the Week’, our selection of three producers that we place under the spotlight. They change every Friday so keep an eye out for the wineries from overseas. We also organise virtual tastings (there’s one with Biondi Santi next week) and in-person tastings for our customers.”
Are there any countries that we should pay particular attention to?
“Absolutely! South Africa and Spain produce excellent wines and are where I find brilliant price/quality ratios. Generally speaking, we support our customers’ enthusiasm for wines produced in countries other than France by constantly enriching the range of wines available through new partnerships with iconic or niche estates.
- New partnerships with iconic domains: Silver Oak and Stags Leap Wine Cellars from Napa Valley, Domaine Nicolas Jay from Willamette Valley (a collaboration between Jean-Nicolas Méo of Domaine Méo-Camuzet and Jay Boberg), Isole and Olena from Tuscany.
- New partnerships with niche domains: Lourens Family Wines and Damascene from South Africa (they are part of the new wave of South African winemakers following in the footsteps of Eben Sadie), Taro Vinicola and Suertes del Marques from the Canaries Islands, and Peter Jakob Kuhn from Germany.”
What tips can you give those who want to buy non-French wines but they don’t know where to start?
“Contact us via our tailor-made cellar service. We can then offer the person a selection adapted to their needs and, most importantly, to their tastes.”
iDealwine’s international team
With its global outlook, iDealwine – which unites wine enthusiasts from 60 different countries – has a fantastic international team made up of several different nationalities. We can hear several languages being spoken in our open-space office (Ciao! Hallo! Hello!) and the team members happily share their favourite wines from their native countries. There are Cristina and Laura, our Italians, Antonia, our Austrian (who translated our website into German), Orlaith, our Irish marketing queen (who makes a mean smoked salmon on Irish brown bread), Jessica, our Welsh translator, Paul, our American, Alva, who works at our Hong-Kong office and Jojo, also from Hong Kong but can be found in the land of baguettes and croissants.
And yourself?Which non-French wines do you like to drink? What are favourites on the iDealwine website? What gems have you discovered in countries other than France? Tell us everything!
