Wine's belated globalization, 1845-2025

Abstract

In the latest wave of globalization, the share of global wine production crossing national borders has trebled since the mid-1980s, to more than 40%. Prior to then, wine was confined mostly to southern Europe with very little trade outside Europe. Why was wine globalization so belated? Why did it take so long for wine exports to take off even in the New World regions of European settlement? This article addresses these questions and also seeks to explain the bilateral patterns of wine trade. It concludes by speculating briefly on how wine markets might develop in the foreseeable future. Show more