Some aspects regarding the wine market, worldwide and in Romania

Abstract

Wine market is a mature market, strongly influenced by favorable or unfavorable developments, determined by dietary patterns and consumers’ buying behavior. Market behavior seems to be determined by the slogan "drink less, but drink better". (Chiran A. et al., 2004). Wine market comprises several segments. The most important segment is represented by stabilized wines, which can be divided into several groups: average to mediocre quality wines and top-quality wines with strict specifications and regulations. Wine market, in general, but, in particular, the European market, is characterized by structural surpluses. The wine distribution system shows the same pattern everywhere in the world, being highly fragmented, with a large number of retailers, finding a shift in the distributed quantities through wholesale channels (hotels, restaurants) to retail distribution channels for the domestic consumer (supermarket chains), which allows improving product competitiveness by price and favors modern consumption patterns and purchasing behavior. Another feature of the wine market is the significant share that cooperative societies hold, which uses European markets and, also, the North American ones, as product providers and as an end market for alcoholic products. Table wine consumption continues a traditionalist trend, represented by rural life, while quality wine market developments expresses rupture from the traditionalist tendencies (Liliana Rotaru et al., 2011). In the wine marketing policy, the growing consumers’ health concerns play a vital role. With alcohol fighting organizations’ movements, a new ideology that aims towards eating healthy foods, which include wines, has been developed.