It is no surprise that the best-sellers at Systembolaget are bag-in-box wines. More than half of all wine is sold in bib in Sweden. But it is surprising that the first bottled wine comes in 31st place – and it is sparkling. You have to go all the way to 109th place to find a still bottled wine, and that is a one-litre bottle. Lower prices attracts…
Here are the ten best-sellers in Sweden, all in a three-litre bag-in-box:
- Il Barone Rosso, Vini Mundi, Italy, SEK 205, 2.3 million litres
- Castillo de Gredos White wine, Bodega Vinartis, Spain, SEK 197, 2.2 M l
- Les Fumées Blanches Sauvignon Blanc, François Lurton, France, SEK 289, 2.2 M l
- Lisa 1503 Bianco D’Artista, Oenoforos, Spain, SEK 199, 2.2 M l
- Lisa 1503, Nordic Sea Winery (Oenoforos), Italy, SEK 209, 2.2 M l
- In the MOOD for Chenin Blanc, Perdeberg Winery, South Africa, SEK 209, 1.9 M l
- Leva Chardonnay Dimiat & Muscat, Vinex Savyantsi, Bulgaria, SEK 229, 1.8 M l
- Chapel Hill Riesling Sauvignon Blanc, Balatonboglar Winery, Hungary, 219 SEK, 1.8 M l
- Puy Chéri Syrah Rosé, Foncalieu, France, 259 SEK, 1.7 M l
- Il Barone Ecologico Organic White, ViniMundi, Spain, 205 SEK, 1.6 M l
Probably all of these are made or explicitly designed with the Swedish market and Swedish consumers’ tastes in mind, and mostly unavailable in other countries. This happens in all markets, not just Sweden, where you have a customer who buys two million litres. It is not a quaint farmer plodding on his soil that makes 2 million litres.
These ten sell 20 million litres, i.e., almost ten percent of all sales. The price-per-bottle (75cl) equivalent is approx. 50 SEK (4.40 euro). Not much money is left over for the producer at that price.
If we take all 100 best-selling wines, the volume is 94 million litres, i.e. 46% of all wine Systembolaget sells.
It is worth noting that Systembolaget only delivers ~70% of all consumption, the rest going through other channels.
5 Responses
Thanks, interesting article.
Nordic beer, wine & spirit monopolies: Sweden:”SYTEMBOLAGET”, SUOMI-FINLAND “ALKO” and Norway ‘VINMONOPOLET”.
Denmark: Individuals can purchase wine and spirits from various retailers, including grocery stores, supermarkets, and dedicated liquor stor
A German friend of mine here, Helmut. Also a resident in Thailand said recdently: “In the Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo they have “Alkohol Apothek” – Alcohol Pharmacy.
I answered him: “In Vino Veritas”
Yes, the feeling when you go into one of the monopoly shops (at least in Sweden) is a bit like the sterile environment in a pharmacy…
“In Vino Veritas”
Interesting article. Thanks.
I noticed: “The price-per-bottle (75cl)” Centiliter. Also, ALKO in Suomi-Finland is using “cl”
Now, cl or ml?
HoReCa (Hotel Restaurant Catering (Cafe) always uses ml milliliter!
Here in ASIA, ml is the gold standard. Wine bottles, Bag-in-the-box, Cerveza por Favor
also ml! Soft drinks, Fizzy drink bottles/cans also ml. Including MILK in Tetrapack ml!
I would appreciate it if BkWine would also use ml global standard – no more fl.oz – What a relief!
Greetings from ASIA
BKK (Bangkok), Thailand
Johannes Koistinen-Lindgren
Chief Editor CarSanooK!/BikeSanooK! Media
In Sweden (and in France) traditionally they use centilitres (cl). However, at the Swedish monopoly they use millilitres (ml).
Personally, I don’t see the point of using ml. On the contrary, there are reason NOT to use ml.
It is no more “standard” than cl.
It gives a deceptive impression of precision. A bottle is 750 ml. Really? Is it not perhaps sometimes 751 ml or 748 ml. That variation should not be acceptable if you use ml.
In reality, the fill is rarely so exact. So, it is reasonable to say 75 cl. It corresponds more to reality, that is a bit flexible.
Cl also makes for a shorter text.
We’ve never used oz. We’re not crazy Americans. ;-)