The Bulk Wine Monitor is a one-page at-a-glance summary, which provides grapegrowers and winemakers with an indication of supply and demand for commercial wine on the global market, and the competitiveness of Australian wine. The report summarises global prices for bulk wine from Australia and other countries. Bulk wine prices are taken from the Ciatti Global Market reports published monthly.

The report includes:

• Monthly trend in Australian bulk wine prices over the past 2 years by variety
• Comparisons of price for the same month over the past 5 years
• Comparison of average bulk wine prices by country for the latest month
• Comparison of change in bulk wine price for Australian wine between AUD and USD

Varieties include: Shiraz (Syrah), Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, generic red, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris/Grigio and generic white.

The report is updated monthly and published quarterly. Intervening month reports are available on request.

Report summary

The December 2025 Bulk Wine Monitor shows that there was an uptick in Australian bulk prices for major red and white varieties compared to last month in USD, based on Ciatti bulk wine offer prices. The exception to this was generic red (down 17 per cent), which has returned to its baseline after increasing by 23 per cent last month.

It has been almost two years since the surge in prices of red varieties in March last year. Red prices have remained stable since the start of the year and have recorded a notable increase this month (except for generic red). In particular, Merlot increased by 9 per cent compared to last month and 4 per cent compared to last year. As a result, Australia overtook Argentina for second lowest bulk price for Merlot in December by country at 50 cents (USD) for the first time in four years.

The prices of Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon have deviated slightly from each other this month. Australia continues to record the lowest bulk prices by country for generic red at 38 cents (USD), tying with Argentina which also recorded 38 cents (USD), Shiraz at 45 cents (USD) and Cabernet Sauvignon at 47 cents (USD).

As for white varieties, Sauvignon Blanc recorded the biggest decline, down 11 per cent from a year ago. Despite increasing 1 per cent compared to last month to 68 cents (USD), it is still 38 per cent lower than its peak in February 2023. As for other white varieties, Chardonnay was down 1 per cent, generic white was down 2 per cent, Pinot Gris/Grigio remained flat and Muscat was up 4 per cent in USD compared with December 2024. 

Source

Ciatti Global Market Reports – updated monthly.