Giesen makes its mark in the US — Exporter Magazine

Giesen Wines’ growing momentum in the United States has been underlined by recent successes at wine competitions there. The Marlborough winery has just won six gold medals at US wine competitions – three of them for the highly popular Giesen Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2012.

Giesen Estate Marlborough Riesling 2012, Giesen The Brothers Marlborough Pinot Noir 2011 and Giesen The August 1888 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 also won gold.

The wines received the coveted recognition at the Dallas Morning News & Texsom Competition, the San Diego International Wine Competition, and the Fingerlakes International Wine Competition respectively.

Giesen Wines has been exporting to the U.S. since 1997. 

Gold recognition highlighted the opportunity for Giesen Wines in this exciting market, said director Alex Giesen.

“These wins bode well for our future growth in the U.S. market and signal how well our wines can foot it in a fiercely competitive international market.”

Alex Giesen believed there was potential for further growth in the US with Kiwi wines competing strongly on quality and price against some of the locally produced wines. 

“Currently Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir are the two ‘known’ varietals from New Zealand. But we’re changing views on that with the introduction of Riesling, Pinot Gris and other varietals into the market. Trial and exposure are the best way to grow the knowledge base.”

A report on Bloomberg describes the US wine market as a significant wine market. It says that in 2010, the States overtook France as the largest consumer of wine in the world, consuming 329.7 million cases. New Zealand wines are highly regarded. In 2012, sales of New Zealand wine represented one percent of total wine sold in the US market, which is just under 4.5 million cases. 

The report says total New Zealand wine sales in the US increased 22.5 percent last year; the fourth consecutive year of double-digit percentage growth for Kiwi wines in the States. The US and Canada were particularly big markets. New Zealand wine remained the fastest growing wine category in British Columbia at 14.9 percent for 2012. New Zealand white wine sales grew 19.1 percent in Ontario last year and are still increasing.