American auction house Sotheby‘s has released its 2020 Wine & Spirits Market Report for an overview of its market during an unusual year owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the report, Sotheby’s auctioned a total of $92 million in wine and spirits last year, of which $35 million came from 20 online auctions.
65% of the buyers came from Asia in 2020.
It also indicates transactions in Asia remained strong in 2020 with 65% of the buyers coming from this region. What is more, 73% of the total bid amount across Wine and Spirits sales came from collectors in the region.
As a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions, Hong Kong reclaimed a historic position in the Asian market with a 59% tranche, followed by the market of Taiwan, mainland China, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, demand from the U.S. dropped from 23% in 2019 to 17% in 2020.
Burgundy house Domaine de la Romanée-Conti retained its top spot in Sotheby’s annual producer rankings for the 8th consecutive year. Its share represents 20% of all wine sales and 48% of all Burgundy sales.
The report detailed how remote wine and spirits transactions compared to the previous year. In 2020, Sotheby’s transitioned swiftly to digital operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It held a total of 41 auctions in 2020 and, of these, 20 were held online while 21 were live. This contrasts with 2019 when only six auctions were held online and 21 were live. Additionally, last year, over $60 million in wine and spirits were sold to internet bidders compared to just $28 million in 2019.
It also highlighted that the digital format facilitated an increase in activity from younger buyers.
Key Insights
Geographic Distribution of Sotheby’s Buyers Since 2013
Source: Sotheby’s Wine Market Report 2020
Distribution of auction sales among Asian buyers
Source: Sotheby’s Wine Market Report 2020
2020 Rankings
Source: Sotheby’s Wine Market Report 2020
