Korea Intoxicated by Premium Wine... Moving from Beginner to Maturity Stage

Wine Import Value Reaches 626 Billion KRW in September, Up 6.7% YoY, While Import Volume Drops 7.7%
Increasing Wine Consumption Experience Leads to Sophisticated Preferences in Varieties and Styles
Lotte Mart's Wine Market Sales Up 55%, E-Mart Achieves Record High Performance
Industry Strives to Secure Premium Offerings Amid Rising Consumer Expectations

On the 17th, participants are enjoying the festival at the 'Global Wine and Food Trip' hosted by Asia Economy at Sebitseom Floating Island in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Eun-mo] The domestic wine market is moving past its introductory phase and entering a mature stage. While this year’s wine import value is breaking records for the second consecutive year, the import volume has decreased. This suggests that consumers are moving beyond simply drinking more wine to a phase of sophistication and diversification, seeking wines that suit their tastes. Amid ongoing high inflation, large supermarket wine fairs are also recording historic sales, with high-priced products selling out rapidly.

According to customs export-import trade statistics on the 30th, the import value of French wines, including premium wine regions such as Bordeaux and Burgundy Grand Cru, reached $151.96 million (approximately 219.4 billion KRW) from January to September this year, an 18.2% increase compared to the same period last year ($128.57 million). During the same period, the import value of American wines, mainly from the premium Napa Valley in California, also rose 16.2% to $78.06 million (about 112.7 billion KRW) from $67.20 million the previous year.

Although the import value of these two countries increased significantly within a year, the import volume either decreased or did not increase substantially. During this period, the import volume of American wines was 5,533 tons, down 10.8% (669 tons) from 6,202 tons in the same period last year, while French wine imports increased only 2.0%, from 9,227 tons to 9,410 tons. On the other hand, Chile, a relatively affordable wine-producing country, had the highest import volume at 10,690 tons this year, but its import value decreased by 11.5% to $48.85 million (about 7 billion KRW) compared to $55.20 million in the same period last year, only about one-third of France’s import value.

The trend toward premiumization in domestic wine consumption can also be seen through total import value and volume. As of the end of September, the total domestic wine import value was $436.68 million (approximately 626 billion KRW), a 6.7% increase compared to $409.37 million in the same period last year. The domestic wine import value, which had been gradually increasing over recent years, nearly doubled compared to the previous year ($220.52 million) as of the third quarter last year, setting a record high. This year, despite last year’s high growth, the momentum continued, breaking records again.

However, during the same period, the import volume, which had been steadily rising alongside import value, declined this year. Wine import volume was 52,855 tons, down 7.7% from 57,265 tons in the same period last year. Despite the increase in import value, the volume decreased, which is interpreted as consumers expanding their preferences beyond simply drinking cost-effective wines to exploring various production regions and grape varieties as accessibility and drinking experience improve.

An industry insider said, “The experience of drinking wine is rapidly increasing year by year, and perceptions of wine as an alcoholic beverage are changing. Because wine has a wide variety of grape varieties and styles, as drinking experience grows, consumers naturally seek more diverse and higher-quality products. It seems the Korean market is entering that stage.”

In fact, premium wines priced in the hundreds of thousands of won, showcased as representative wines at large supermarket fairs, are selling out quickly, earning the nickname “queue wines.” According to Lotte Mart, wine fair sales increased by 55% compared to the previous year from the 13th to the 19th. By price range, sales of wines priced over 100,000 KRW quadrupled compared to last year, and sales of ultra-premium wines priced over 500,000 KRW increased more than elevenfold.

Emart reported that wine fair sales increased by 12.5% compared to the previous year, achieving record-high sales. The sales share by price range was 36.3% for under 30,000 KRW, 18.4% for 30,000 to under 50,000 KRW, 20.1% for 50,000 to under 100,000 KRW, and 25.1% for over 100,000 KRW. Limited edition products such as the five major French ch?teaux and Grand Cru wines, as well as premium New World wines with daily special prices, sold out completely.

As domestic consumers’ standards rise, there is also a growing effort to secure rare premium wines. Shinsegae acquired the Napa Valley winery “Shafer Vineyard,” famous for high-quality cult wines, in February, and in August purchased additional vineyards in the Stags Leap District to start direct production. Hyundai Department Store established the import and distribution company Vino H and is focusing on discovering and exclusively importing organic premium wines rather than mass-importing mid-range wines. Currently, they have imported about 100 types of wines from 10 wineries in France and Italy, with plans to expand the import portfolio to around 300 types.

A customer is purchasing wine at Lotte Mart Seoul Station branch. (Photo by Lotte Mart)

Following the premiumization trend in wine, the home appliance industry is also targeting consumers with premium wine cellars. Samsung Electronics improved the “Sommelier at Home” feature, which supports systematic management by photographing wine labels with a mobile phone, to be usable on its Bespoke refrigerators. LG Electronics launched the “LG Dios Objet Collection Wine Cellar,” which links with the LG ThinQ app on smartphones to provide information such as name, type, origin, and price by photographing wine labels.

Additionally, Carrier Refrigeration opened a standalone store for the premium wine cellar brand “Eurocave” last month at Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam branch. Eurocave, established in 1976 as the world’s first wine cellar brand, is registered as an “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV),” a living cultural heritage designation granted by the French government to companies representing specific regions based on technology, tradition, and craftsmanship.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.