Americans Still Prefer White Wines, Even With Pinot and Cabernet on the Rise
American wine consumption at an all-time high, led by varietals
Posted: October 23, 2007
Even after 17 consecutive years of consumption growth for red wine in the United States, Americans still prefer whites: Americans are expected to buy 120 million 9-liter cases in 2007. That figure narrowly beats out reds, a projected 118 million cases sold by year-end. Blush and rosé wines lag far behind, at only 31 million cases.
According to the recently released 2007 edition of The U.S. Wine Market: Impact Databank Review and Forecast, white wines are expected to further widen their lead by the end of the decade, when Americans are expected to consume 140 million cases. Both domestic and imported white wines, especially varietals, continue to outpace their red counterparts.
Chardonnay remains the most popular variety by far among Americans, with 64 million cases in projected sales this year. Merlot leads all red wines by volume, but Pinot Noir was the fastest-growing major varietal type last year, red or white, surging 29 percent by case sales, and expected to accelerate even further this year. Cabernet Sauvignon also continues to perform well, as does Zinfandel, but the collective growth of Pinot Grigio, Riesling, and Sauvignon (and Fumé) Blanc will combine to keep white wines ahead of red for the 30th consecutive year, according to Impact Databank, which is owned by M. Shanken Communications, the parent company of Wine Spectator.
Most of the American wine market's future growth is expected to come from sales of varietal-labeled wines, both domestic and imported. Red and white varietals are projected to experience steady growth until at least 2015, at the expense of blush and rosé wines and generics (wines that are not identified by varietal, such as Bordeaux). Imported wines had outperformed domestic brands for 11 straight years, but in 2007, wines from California and other U.S. states are expected to outpace their import counterparts from Italy, Australia, France and other up-and-coming countries, such as Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa.
While overall U.S. market growth has slowed down somewhat since the beginning of the millennium, wine has, on average, outperformed beer and distilled spirits for more than 50 years running. Last year, Americans consumed 17.6 billion 5-ounce servings of wine, a five-fold increase since 1950. Wine will account for nearly 16 percent of total alcoholic beverage servings in 2007, disproportionately higher than its 10 percent share of aggregate case sales, according to the 650-page Impact report.
The annual U.S. Wine Market analyzes the latest trends in the wine industry. Containing over 400 tables, color-graphs and maps, this expanded edition consists of results through 2006, the first look at brand forecasts for 2007, projections by origin and category through 2015, comprehensive charts of varietal and generic wine trends by color and type, and industry financial analysis by brand and type. The report also provides volume data for over 500 brands since 1980, rankings of the top 100 wine brands by volume and retail sales, the top 25 marketers, the 50 most profitable brands and much, much more.
For more information about The U.S. Wine Market, now available on CD, and other Impact Databank reports on beer, distilled spirits and the global drinks market, contact Elisa Trapani by mail at M. Shanken Communications, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016; by phone at (212) 684-4224, ext. 339; by fax at (212) 779-3366; or by e-mail at etrapani@mshanken.com. For a comprehensive table of contents and a detailed listing of tables and charts, or to print an order form, click here.
