Financial and Commercial Barriers Hold Back the Mexican Wine Industry

06-11-12 by Emmanuel Besserve


Mexico News by Country Economy Latin America

Over the years, Mexico has been globally praised for the flavor and variety of wine that it is able to produce. However, what has happen recently is that the Mexican has actually fallen behind the other wine producing countries in terms of getting the global recognition that they deserve and the presence that they had.

You will find that even though the climate in Mexico and the soil are great for cultivating grapes, but there are different barriers that are hurting Mexico from getting their wines distributed the way that they need to be.

One of the reasons that Mexico’s wine industry has been hurt in terms of volume and distribution is because of the rising price of wine on the global market. There are also fluctuations in the exchange rate, and suppliers have also lowered the amount that they are ordering. The retailers also want a kick back and are asking for money to stock these items and make sure that they are promoting them for the distributers. Another issue is that these vineyard owners are finding that the investment they would have to make to get the production levels that they want is just too high and is going to be too much for them to think about exporting it.

For this reason, the interest in drinking and getting Mexican wine has actually decreased in the last decade. Phillip Amery, who is the directory of Albion Wine Shippers out of London states, “It is not easy to import Mexican wines, mainly due to the cost of [getting] containers into and out of Mexico, and internal logistics making it difficult and expensive to get containers over to the East Coast. Mexican wine can compete with wines from other countries, but not in a large volume because the cost is too high.”

You can use the numbers to back this story up. The numbers show that Mexico produced about 100,000 hectoliters of wine, which translates into 2.6 million gallons in 2009. But, powerhouses for wine production, which are countries like Argentina and Chile produced multiple millions of hectoliters, which shows you how much more they are creating. There is much less production coming out of Mexico, which means if the demand is there, the supply would be extremely high.

The other issue that you will find with Mexican wines is that wine enthusiasts have no idea where to buy these wines. People think that they are going to be easy to find, but in the end it isn’t easy to find and it is something that many people would drink if it was more affordable and it was readily available. It seems that even store owners aren’t sure where to find these wines and are often caught telling people that they don’t know anything about the Mexican wines that are out on the market. Exposure just isn’t there for these wines.

The funny thing is, that the birth of winemaking in the Americas is actually from Mexico and the great rugged terrain that it provides for growing grapes. It was back during the Spanish rule of Mexico that they started to make and introduce wine from the missionaries and the conquistadors. From there, they actually established vineyards throughout the valleys that now surround the modern day Mexico City. Before that, the indigenous tribes like the Aztecs and Toltecas used to ferment fruit so that they could create alcoholic drinks for their ceremonies and for recreational purposes.

Wine in Mexico has been around since the early beginnings and these vineyards throughout the country have pioneered products and have helped expand some of the best wine out there in the world. Mexico wine can compete with the best in the world and that is commonly stated by wine connoisseurs. Today, the vineyards in Mexico are trying to cater to the wines that people prefer. In the past, Mexico focused on red wines, but they are spreading out to white, sparkling, and sweet wines that people want to eat today.

Mainly, what needs to happen so that Mexican wines can succeed is a large investment and a better way to distribute the wines. There also needs to be a cultural shift so that they can be promoted. However, there are many people today that are optimistic that these wines are going to succeed just based off of the high quality of them.

You will see that Mexican wines have won some major awards. They have won awards at the Tasters Guild in Traverse City, Michigan and they have even wok awards at a Chardonnay contest that is held in Burgundy France. These wines hold up to what else is out there throughout the world, and for that reason, people should look into these wines and helping get them into the stores and into people’s glasses.

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