According to written reports, there was already a class of wine merchants in ancient Greece in the third century BC. For them, the job title "oinogeustes" (wine taster) existed because the ability to taste was obviously a prerequisite. In the Middle Ages, the Greek port of Monemvasia on the Peloponnese peninsula was an important transhipment point for sweet wines from the entire Mediterranean region. For centuries, England exerted a great influence on the taste of wine through strong imports, especially from France. As a result, Champagne, Clairet, Port and Sherry became established as wine styles. France has always been one of the main wine suppliers for many countries.
Especially in Bordeaux, many large trading companies have been established, because it was from here that transport mainly to England took place. This is why the Bordeaux wine trade has a special historical significance. Today, the négociants market around 70% of the wines produced in this region. At the time of their great colonial empires and overseas conquests, the three countries England, Portugal, Spain and the city-state of Venice were particularly important in the wine trade. From the beginning of the 17th century, the former maritime power of the Netherlands had a leading or determining influence on the wine and spirits trade for over a hundred years and rose to become the largest trading power in the world.
A distinction is made between trade in bulk wines in large containers (tanks or barrels), which is generally referred to as bulk wine (Fassware), and trade in bottles. Bulk wine is sold by winegrowers and winegrowers' cooperatives primarily to the wine trade, as well as to wine and sparkling wine cellars for further processing. The most important forms of distribution for bottles are consumer markets, grocery shops, specialist wine shops, farm-gate sales, mail order (increasingly via the internet) and gastronomy. The German company Hillebrand, headquartered in Mainz-Hechtsheim (Rhineland-Palatinate), is the world's largest wine and beverage forwarder. Special forms of wine trade are auctions (again increasingly via the internet such as eBay) and subscriptions, i.e. advance sales before a wine has even been produced (with a special form called "en primeur"). Major changes occurred from the 1980s onwards due to the increasing globalisation of the wine markets with huge multinationals (see under largest wine companies in the world).
The USA is the largest export market for European wine. Top importing countries are Germany and traditionally England, USA and China. The top three exporting countries for a long time are Spain, Italy and France. In December 2005, a wine trade agreement with far-reaching consequences was concluded between the USA and the EU; see the related section under the heading Wine Law. In addition, a new EU wine market regulation with serious changes in wine quality levels and wine designations came into force in August 2009; see in detail under Quality System. For vineyard areas and wine volumes of all countries, see Wine production volumes.
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