From the end of the 18th century when the first professional wine merchants came into existence, a fresh impetus was given to promoting Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines, resulting in the setting up of distribution circuits both in France and abroad.

Producers and merchants were responsible for marketing their own products. They were assisted by the Committee for the promotion of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines. Four new trends have been seen over the past few years :

1 - The opening of wine-tasting cellars providing producers and merchants with an outlet for their bottles wines. From small beginnings this marketing trend may, for some, prove to be all-important, in view of the excellent reputation this area has for tourists (particularly those from abroad). By building up a customer file it is possible to set up a mail order network aimed at the general public.

2 - Sales to cellar managers, fine food stores and specialist shops are expanding rapidly. New consumer trends are moving towards a more personalised product. In the same way, Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines are in demand in the top class restaurant trade.

3 - The "Wine Fairs" organised each Autumn in most supermarkets have created a genuine demand from Modern Trade outlets. As this demand has been satisfied essentially by wine merchants rather than by Producers, Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines are now often available in large-scale retail outlets.

4 - Exports (direct from the estate or through merchants) have for several years now represented 50 % of the total production.

The internationalisation of sales is a trend that is increasing as new markets appear in South America, Australia and Japan. These sales, however, remain limited. The traditional foreign markets are still Switzerland, Belgium and Germany. Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines were first introduced into Great Britain, The United States and Canada, Holland and the Scandinavian countries some twenty years ago. These countries have since proved to be some of our most regular markets.