WINE TRENDS FOR 2005 (AND WHAT WE CAN LEARN)

As with beer and spirits, it looks like American wine consumers are still favoring imports and expensive brands as well. In 2005 table wines that were priced over $15 a bottle rose 30.8% in volume, while those falling in the $9-11.99 range increased 20.2% and $12-14.99 priced wines saw a 14.9% climb. This trend suggests that Americans are going after a certain image because even though many wine companies are marketing user-friendly products, the snob appeal still exists and is sought after. Volumes for $5.50-8.99 bottles grew only 8.1%, whereas wines priced less than $2.99 decreased by 6% and $3-5.49 went down 0.5%.


For the fourth consecutive year California wine lost share in 2005 to imports whose volume grew 7.5% versus the domestic volume increase of 1.9%. California’s share went down to 8.2% “likely fueled by stronger price/mix as well as a continued shift to imports,” wrote Merrill Lynch’s Christine Farkas. Washington went up to 16.6% due to more “moderate pricing” and wine drinkers’ “interest in Pinot Noir.” As far as the imports are concerned, Australia took the lead with 7.7% share. Italy came in second with 5.1% and Chile was third at 1.7%, both maintaining their previous shares. Once again, France lost share in 2005. Harry Schuhmacher at Beer Business Daily offers further information and insight on wine scanner data for the 4-week period ending December 25, 2005.