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JULY NEWS U.S. Wine Shipments To Canada Climb Vintners ride exchange rates north exposure for their products as exchange rates hand producers a bigger bang for the export buck in Canada. The past two years have seen currencies V in the two countries trade at parity, give or take a cent or two in any given month, meaning U.S. wine has seldom been cheap- er to buyers in Canada. The result has been both a desire among U.S. wineries to ex- port to Canada and an increase in Cana- dian demand for U.S. wine. The biggest beneficiary has been case goods, exports of which have been de- livering stronger returns in Canada than in many other international markets. In April, Rabobank International's report ancouver, British Columbia— Southern exposure might be fine in the vineyard, but U.S. vintners are seeking a little more northern about the wine industry noted that U.S. exports to Canada averaged more than $8 per bottle in 2011—approximately $3.25 per bottle more than average for the country's wine exports. "Value growth is outpacing volume growth, up 8% and 5% respectively, in 2011," the Rabobank report stated. "The strong pricing in the Canadian market is not lost on exporters, many of whom are attaining average prices in Canada that (are) well above their global average." "What we're really, really pleased to see is very strong growth in our premium brands," Holly Evans, a spokesperson for Delicato Family Vineyards in Napa, told Wines & Vines. Thumbing through recent sales re- ports, Evans pointed to the company's Irony brand as one that has seen espe- Canadian Wine Imports $2.5 billion $2.0 billion $1.5 billion $1.0 billion $500 million 0 Total imports Imports from the U.S. cially strong growth (alongside such stalwarts as Gnarly Head). "This year it looks like we're up 467% year-to-date versus year-to-date last year ending (in) April, and on track to ship probably 7,500 cases of that brand alone this year," Evans said. While the U.S. is hardly alone in target- ing Canada (which Rabobank noted is also delivering premium returns to producers in Italy, Spain and Chile), Canada's proximity gives U.S. vintners an edge. winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keywords "Canada shipments." —Peter Mitham ÉLEVÉ EN FRANCE COOPERED IN CALIFORNIA Visit www.tonnellerieo.com to learn about our French oak barrels and schedule a private tour of our new California cooperage. 531 Stone Road, Benicia, CA 94510 | 707.752.6350 office | 707.746.7471 fax | info@tonnellerieo.com Wines & Vines JULY 2012 15 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011