Producers ship their wines to the end customer in different ways. Bulk wines are usually transported by boat in a flexitank container. It is an environmentally friendly way to transport wine. Bulk wines may not have the best reputation, but they are an essential part of the wine industry.
In 2019, the bulk wine accounted for 34% of the total volume of wine exported worldwide. All wine countries export part of their production in bulk, some countries more than others. For Spain and the USA, bulk wine accounts for 55% of exports, for South Africa 50%, Australia 46% and Chile 42%.
They have a poor reputation because most of the bulk wine is unpretentious wines, for which the buyers have endlessly pushed prices down. Despite the large volume, bulk wines represent only 8% of the value of world exports.
The countries that export the highest proportion of their production in bottles are Portugal with 80%, Germany, 74%, France, 71% and Argentina, 67%.
Source OIV.
