Which countries prefer organic wine?

The growing popularity of organic wine is one of several trends being observed in the global wine market in recent years. Like other certified organic agricultural products, organic grapes need to be grown without artificial pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or chemical fertilizers. I have previously noted that organic (and biodynamic) wines are often assessed as tasting better than conventionally made wines (Do biodynamic wines taste better than organic wines?), and this would make them even more desirable to consumers.

This leads to the obvious question about who is currently drinking them — are consumers in some locations showing preferences for organic wines, and others not?

As noted by Vinex (Top organic wine markets by volume 2020), the IWSR has recently released its IWSR Organic Wine Report 2019, which addresses this issue. It notes that the 2019 market was definitely concentrated in only a few places. Indeed, the the top ten organic wine markets accounted for 80% of global sales, and the top five account for over 60% of the global total.

The volume data are shown in the first graph, for the top ten countries. Clearly, Germany and France dominate, followed by the UK, the USA and Sweden. This is an eclectic collection of countries, possibly with different motivations. A recent study (Analysis of German wine consumers' preferences for organic and non-organic wines) noted that: “Socio-demographic factors (e.g. age and social class) and behavioural attributes (e.g. frequency of wine consumption and involvement with and preference for other organic products) demonstrate the differences between consumers of organic wine [and] those who do not drink organic wine.”

The IWSR notes that, in Germany, organic wine is particularly purchased by women, people over 50, and high-income earners. In France, popularity for French organic wine is mainly in the large metropolises. The UK combines these characteristics, with organic wine popular among wealthier people located in the cities (who often prefer other organic products, as well). In the USA, buyers seem to be among females, millennials, and high-income earners.

However, what is equally important is that these countries vary dramatically in population size. This obscures just which groups of people are showing a preference for organic wines (the volumes hide the preferences). The thing we need to do is, then, to work out the per capita volumes, which will tell us exactly what we want to know. The volume data divided by population size are shown in the second graph.

Clearly, two different countries come to the fore. Sweden dominates the graph, with more than 2¼ times the preference of the second country, Austria. France and Germany still do well, but the UK and the USA fade from the picture, somewhat. Sweden has long been known for its consumption of organic wines (Swedes drink more organic wine than other Europeans, research shows), but I have not often seen Austria high-lighted before.

This leads to the obvious question about just why Austrians, and especially Swedes, go for organic wine. At least in the case of Sweden, where I live, it seems to me that important factors include obvious support for environmental conservation and sustainable agriculture, and a preference for chemical-free foods. In that sense, it is a lifestyle choice, where all organic products are to be preferred, not just wine. However, organic products are not cheap in Sweden, so a certain financial credibility is needed for this lifestyle.

Similar factors also seem to apply to Austria, as it has long been a Leader in the natural wine movement. Remember, it was an Austrian, Rudolf Steiner, who first developed the idea of biodynamic farming (way back in 1924). So, the Austrian consumers certainly have plenty of organic wine choice (Austria ‘one of the most exciting countries in Europe’ for orange wines).