Argentina's bulk boom: Malbec in a 24,000-litre bag
Bulk export volume +46.5%. The UK takes more than half. Brunela Suriano: Malbec bulk about USD 0.70–2.00/L, generics 30–45 cents, because bottled glass is expensive.
Argentina's bulk wine just jumped 46.5% by volume, and Malbec is in the bag.
Brunela Suriano, president of the Cámara Argentina de Vinos a Granel, told Diario San Rafael the UK takes more than half, then Germany, the US, Spain and Canada. China, Czechia, Portugal, Romania and Ecuador have come back or arrived.
The format is a 24,000-litre bag in a container, like a giant bag-in-box. At destination it goes into tank and into bottle. Varietal Malbec still says Argentine Malbec on the label. Generics get blended — Canada likes those for bag-in-box and tetra.
About 26 or 27 firms sit in the chamber. Malbec bulk: about USD 0.70 to 2.00 a litre, depending on volume. Generics: 30 to 45 cents. Buyers want bulk because finished glass is expensive, carbon is counted, and they want bottling jobs at home. England has about five big filling plants.
Same interview: a hard harvest, some fruit left on the vine, while bulk grows. She wants bulk to be a plan, not a leftover.
Mini-concept: the bottle can be filled in Britain. The Malbec still has to be grown in Argentina.
A flavoured can is already filled. This wine travelled as 24,000 litres and became a shelf bottle later.
Remember: bulk +46.5% by volume, UK more than half, Malbec 70 cents to two dollars a litre.
Source: Diario San Rafael