Poles are Drinking More and More Wine

Poles are appreciating the art of drinking wine. Specialist wine shops are increasing in their numbers. Currently there are over 250 wine speciality shops within the country. The trend in this new wine appreciation is growing as are the numbers of such shops.

The Rzeczpospolita reports that Ambra, the leader on the Polish wine market, anticipates an increase of its number of wine speciality shops by 150 percent within the next three years. Currently there are 20 Centrum Wina stores owned by Ambra. Warsaw’s Grand Cru operates 16 such wine shops on a franchise basis with an annual 25 percent increase in its profit margin within the four years of its existence. The company estimates an increase of 35 percent for this year alone.

Grand Cru will open an additional four stores by the end of this year. The company plans to have 70 to 80 shops nation wide by 2010. The average franchise start-up cost for opening a Grand Cru store is between 10,000 to 15,000 złoty.

The leader in Poznan‘s wine market is Bartex. Customers may not only purchase but also sample wines within the store. The shop with its wine tasting tables was opened a year and a half ago and proved a great success. The wine sales this year have increased significantly. The company is planning to open new wine tasting venues and shops.

It is not only the big cities that are benefiting from the wine booms. Smaller towns such as Kolobrzeg where companies such as Top Wina Swiata are enjoying an increase in sales by as much as 20 percent annually.

Wine makers and sellers are confident that the increase in sales is not only thanks to wine connoisseurs. According to wine store owners wine is becoming more popular in Poland, and it is taking over from other traditional alcohols of choice. Statistics compiled by the Nielsen company, indicate wine sales from July 2006 until June 2007 increased by 25 percent, some 710 mln zloty. The most popular wines are from Argentina, Chile and Australia. There is still potential for growth. Poles consume only 1.5 litres of wine annually per head. In comparison Denmark, originally not a wine drinking country, consumes on average some 35 litres per head.