LVMH and Kering: the race for the best vineyards

Since the end of the pandemic and a growing demand for premium wines, major luxury groups are searching for the most prestigious vineyards in the world. This craze is explained by the recovery of global wine consumption, slightly increasing in 2021 (+0.7%), reaching 236 million hectoliters thanks to the reopening of bars and cafes, the recovery of tourism and events. The annual report of the OIV (International Organization of Vine and Wine) published in April 2022 for the previous year, is eloquent: "Counterbalancing the fall observed in the value of world wine exports in 2020, due to Covid-19, the value of world exports in 2021 reached the record level of 34.3 billion EUR.”

New segments, such as organic wines, are also boosting the market: at the Act for Change Symposium held last June in Bordeaux, Cyril Grira, Director of Retail & Omnichannel at Google France, spoke of the acceleration of searches for wines and spirits on the Google search engine, such as "organic wines" which have tripled in number. The lack of consumer knowledge in this area (80% of searches are generic) and the lack of visibility of small producers are however a brake on the performance of this sector.

In this context, the guarantee of quality provided by large groups such as Kering or LVMH can be a growth lever for the reputation of small producers, highly sought after by luxury groups. Today, faced with the hazards of climate change that modify the organoleptic qualities of grape varieties, it is necessary to be able to renew the palette of terroirs.