NEW YORK -- As bubbly gets its closeup this week, the New Year's Eve revelling will illustrate an increasingly established truth in the sparkling-wine business: Sales are bubbling, but it’s got little to do with Champagne.
So states the Wall Street Journal this week, which notes, though shipments of French-made Champagne have been climbing in the United States since 2009, the real pop in the sparkling-wine industry is coming from Prosecco. Sales of the sweeter and less expensive Italian-made cousin of Champagne rose 32% in the 12-month period ended Dec. 6, five times the growth rate of sparkling wine overall, according to Nielsen.
“Prosecco is by far the hottest segment in sparkling wine, and you could make a case that Proseccos are one of the biggest factors in the wine business’s impressive growth,” Jon Fredrikson, co-owner Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates Wine Industry Consultants, told the newspaper.
Sparkling-wine sales dipped almost 3% in the U.S. following the recession but quickly recuperated in 2010 when sales increased 7%, according to Nielsen. Sales have increased in the single-digits since then and are expected to extend that streak this year.
“Sparkling-wine sales have been on fire for us and growing throughout the year,” said Melissa Devore, vice president of wine buying at Total Wine & More, the Potomac, Md.-based alcohol retailer with 113 stores in 16 states. She said that this week will deliver 15% of annual sparkling-wine sales for the retailer. Italian sparklers, in particular, are “the trendy thing right now,” she said.
The U.S. Prosecco boom, which began almost five years ago, has benefited companies like Zardetto Spumanti SRL, E. & J. Gallo Winery, which makes La Marca, and Casa Vinicola Zonin SpA, which makes Zonin Prosecco. Oenophiles don’t all favor the drink, but it managed to establish some cachet. Many drinkers preferred its fruit-forward profile to Champagne’s more complex mix of fruit and bread flavors, and bartenders increasingly featured Prosecco in craft cocktails.
Prosecco also offered a cheaper alternative to Champagne. The average bottle of Prosecco costs nearly $12, putting it in the sweet spot for sparkling-wine prices. Sales of bubbly priced at $10 to $15 a bottle jumped 10.5% in the 12 months ended Dec. 6, and now account for a third of all sparkling-wine sales, according to Nielsen.
Prosecco isn’t the only Champagne challenger. But other trendy sparkling wines have had less staying power. Sales of Spanish-made cava increased 2.2% during the 12 months ended Dec. 6, while sales of Moscato, which is made everywhere from Germany to California, decreased 3.8% but remain above 2012 totals, according to Nielsen.
E. & J. Gallo recently mined the growing popularity of Champagne substitutes with the introductions of Barefoot Bubbly Prosecco and Andre Moscato and Pink Moscato.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.