The wine industry is on the rise in Korea as consumers show an increasing preference for lighter, fruitier alternatives to the traditional strongholds of beer and soju.

In response to the rising demand, companies in Korea are developing exclusive partnerships with wineries abroad to bring down prices and increase sales.

“As we have more customers asking for wine, we wanted to find ways to bring them quality wines at lower prices,” a spokesman for discount retail store chain Homeplus told The Korea Herald. “The sourcing competition is fierce.”

As retailers are not legally allowed to create their own private brands or labels for alcoholic beverages, they join up with affiliates or other firms to sell exclusive wine ranges.

Major large-scale retailers such as Homeplus, Shinsegae’s Emart and Lotte’s Lotte Mart have all stepped up to try to capture the low-priced casual wine market through exclusive partnerships.

Since 2011, Homeplus has been selling wine from Tesco under its private brands, including quality wines from around the world at 10,000 won to 90,000 won per bottle. 

This year it introduced the “Superstar 4” project, which brings in exclusive wines from North America, South America, Europe and the Oceania at low prices. The wines include Ghost Pines wines from the US at 18,900 won per bottle, and Yarra Valley Pinot Noir from Australia at same price.

Homeplus has reported a steady rise in wine sales since the project launched. Wine sales rose from about 8 percent of all alcoholic beverage sales at the retailer chain last year to 13 percent as of August 2016.

E-mart and Lotte Mart have been able to sell low-priced wines from the brands of their sister companies, Shinsegae L&B and Lotte Chilsung Liquor, respectively.

In 2009, E-mart released a line called G7, a joint project with Shinsegae L&B. Priced at just 6,900 won per bottle, G7 wines are sourced from the Chilean G7 winery.

“The G7 line has enjoyed steady popularity among customers because of its quality and low price,” a spokeswoman for E-mart said.

Fueled by G7, wine takes up 21 percent of all alcohol sales at E-mart.

Lotte’s L wine, meanwhile, is sourced from Santa Rita, one of Chile’s three top wineries. Priced at 6,900 won per bottle, it has strengthened Lotte Mart’s lineup of casual wines.

Restaurants are also jumping into the mix with private brands. Mad for Garlic, a chain of restaurants specializing in garlic-infused dishes, rolled out its first “Mad Wine” last year -- the Montefalco Rosso in partnership with wine importer Sooseok Trading.

While these low-cost and accessible wines have widened the market, they have also changed consumer expectations.

“The average price range for wine in customer’s minds has gone down, so they’re unwilling to try new wines if they cost more than, maybe, 40,000 won,” said a wine store owner surnamed Kim, who runs a store in Gwanak-gu, Seoul.

“It’s a shame because there’s a huge variety of good wines coming in at excellent prices, but customers will turn to popular, lower-cost labels instead.”

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)