Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. A member of the European Union, Latvia is a small country, and people know much less about it than it deserves. The population is just under 2,000,000, with economic and cultural activities principally concentrated in Riga, the capital city, as well as the city of Jurmala in resort season. There are plenty of wine bars and restaurants all over the country; wine culture is advanced and many of these offer excellent wine lists. Latvia’s major wine importers work both with well-known brands and the products of small wineries, including natural wines.
Despite the difficult situation in the country after the COVID-19 pandemic and losses in tourism since early 2022, Latvia remains fashionable in terms of gastronomy. And where there is gastronomy, there is also wine. In Latvia, you simply can’t open a good restaurant if you don’t have a decent wine list.
Although the average resident of Latvia consumes more beer and spirits than wine, in terms of wine preferences Latvians do not differ significantly from other Europeans. In 2022, Latvia’s major trading partners for the import of wines were (according to Trendy Economy):
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Italy with a share of 47% (76 million US$)
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France with a share of 13.9% (22 million US$)
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Spain with a share of 9.84% (15.6 million US$)
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Germany with a share of 5.5% (8.78 million US$)
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Portugal with a share of 4.17% (6.65 million US$)
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Estonia with a share of 3.78% (6.04 million US$)
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Lithuania with a share of 3.06% (4.88 million US$)
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Georgia with a share of 2.84% (4.54 million US$)
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Austria with a share of 1.41% (2.26 million US$)
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Chile with a share of 1.4% (2.23 million US$)
Italian wines are invariably popular, while French and Spanish wines are still in great demand. Among the leading wine importers are Germany, Portugal, Estonia, Lithuania, Georgia and Austria.
We should also note that wine imports to Latvia have grown consistently in recent years. After a significant decrease in imports in 2014, the total volume of imported wine in 2015 amounted to just over 63 million dollars. In 2022 it was already $167 million; this despite the Covid restrictions of previous years.
The Latvian Wine Market in Numbers
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Latvian Wine production is forecast to reach 28,300 metric tons by 2026, up from 27,200 metric tons in 2021. This equates to a CAGR of 0.4%.
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Since 1999, Latvian demand for Sparkling Wine has increased 8.9% annually.
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Revenue in the Wine market amounts to US$134.80m in 2023. The market is expected to grow annually by 8.09% (CAGR 2023-2027).
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By 2027, 48% of spending and 25% of volume consumption in the Wine market will be attributable to out-of-home consumption (e.g. in bars and restaurants).
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In the Wine market, volume is expected to amount to 12.80m L by 2027.
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The market for Wine market is expected to show a volume growth of 3.4% in 2024.
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Wine consumption per capita reached 10.5 litres in 2020 in Latvia according to Faostat. This is 154% more than in the previous year.
Although Latvian wine-growing dates back to the 16th century, making grape wine in this country was never easy. Historically, Latvian wines are made from other fruits – including apple plum, and cherry – as well as berries like raspberry and black currant, and even flowers. Perhaps this lack of a long-term history of winemaking is why imported brands are in such demand.
There’s no chance of the Latvian wine culture slowing down now. Instead, they’re constantly developing. The forecasts for this development are more than favorable both in quality and volume. As a result, there’s excellent commercial potential for those who work on the Latvian wine market.
Learn more about importing wine to Latvia at the link below:
https://www.legalmondo.com/product/distribution-wine-latvia/
Despite the fact that the Latvian market is relatively small, it is still saturated with wine distributors of various types. Only today we updated all the Latvian contacts in our database of wine importers, added many new ones as we went. In total, there are currently 51 wine importers and distributors in our database. These include:
LIVIKO: The leading wine distributor in the Baltics, LIVIKO represents major wine brands such as Champagne Deutz, Maison Louis Jadot, Jean-Marc Brocard, Maison Delas Frères, Les Vins Georges Duboeuf, Barone Ricasoli, Fontanafredda and many others.
Amber Distribution: This company is a leading beverage distributor in the Baltics, including Latvia. They have an affiliation with the wine and spirits beverage holding company of the region.
https://amberdistribution.lv/lv/
Dunker: Dunker is one of the leading alcoholic beverage importers and distributors in the Baltics, including Latvia. They have been operating for 20 years and represent high-quality brands.
Sources:
www.helgilibrary.com/indicators/wine-consumption-per-capita/latvia/
www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/alcoholic-drinks/wine/latvia
