Article written by Angelica Crabb, Senior Analyst at Wine Australia.
Pinot Noir is the fourth largest red wine grape variety grown in Australia, with a five per cent volume share of red varieties.
Australia’s Pinot Noir crush in 2022 was 44,271 tonnes, 19 per cent down from the 2021 record crop and nine per cent below the five year average.
The warmer inland regions of Riverland, Murray Darling-Swan Hill and Riverina make up three out of the top four regions producing Pinot Noir. Together, the Pinot Noir crush of these three regions has grown by nearly 30 per cent since 2020. Outside of the warmer inland regions, Tasmania, Adelaide Hills and Yarra Valley produce the most Pinot Noir.
The average price of Pinot Noir in 2022 was $1,200 per tonne across all of Australia. The average price increased in both warm inland regions (up six per cent to $682 per tonne) and cool/temperate regions (up 10 per cent to $2,171). In the past 10 years, the average price of Pinot Noir has risen steadily, at an average of five per cent per year. Pinot Noir has the second highest average price per tonne of the top 10 red wine grape varieties in the cool/temperate regions, second only to Grenache ($2,201/tonne).
The sales volume and value of most of the top red wine grape varieties in the Australian off-trade channel declined in 2022. However, sales of Pinot Noir increased by seven per cent in value and six per cent in volume. The largest share of Pinot Noir sales in the Australian off trade sits in the $20-$29.99 segment, with a 31 per cent volume share.
For Australian Pinot Noir, the Yarra Valley holds the highest share of value in the off-trade at 16 per cent, although this has declined over the past two years. Tamar Valley, South Eastern Australia and South Australia have also declined in share. Meanwhile, gaining
share of off-trade value are Tasmania (12 per cent share), Adelaide Hills (eight per cent share), and Barossa Valley (three per cent share). In the Australian on-trade, Pinot Noir has the most listings of red wine varieties on wine lists in bars and restaurants, with an 18.5 per cent share. However, this was down from a 19.3 per cent share in 2021.
Tasmania (16 per cent share), Mornington Peninsula (10 per cent), and Geelong (four per cent) all increased their share of Pinot Noir on-trade listings in 2022, compared to 2021. Meanwhile, Gippsland, Adelaide Hills, and Yarra Valley declined in share. Tasmania overtook Yarra Valley as the top regional Pinot Noir listing in 2022.
This article originally appeared in the December/January issue of National Liquor News.