SPIRITS AND WINE ON THE RISE: IT’S A FLAVOR THING

Americans are consuming more alcohol at a faster rate according to the newly released Adams Handbook Advance published by Adams Beverage Group. Spirits consumption rose 2.7% to 170 million 9-liter cases in 2005 while wine increased 2.2% to 273.9 million 9-liter cases. The domestic beer market, however, did not do as well and declined 0.5% to 2.83 billion 2.25-gallon cases. Adams Handbooks’ VP and group publisher Charles Forman said, “The party last year was still about flavor, on one hand, and brands, on the other. Spirits marketers have done an outstanding job cementing a relationship with the Cosmo generation of consumer – defining, refining, and up-scaling their brands to create long-term consumers.”


American consumers continue to cultivate their love affair with wine. The top five imported wine brands rose 11.3% last year with Australia’s Yellow Tail leading the pack at a 15.4% increase. Italy, Chile, Spain and Argentina also saw substantial increases, however France only rose 2.4%. “It’s flavor again,” said Charles. “And marketing. We like fruitiness; we like to be provoked and amused with marketing images. The overseas vintners have figured this out, especially how to give us high quality wines at moderate prices that American palates understand.”