Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/744999
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m N o v - D e c 2 016 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 5 3 Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylva- nia, Massachusetts and Ohio. In the United Kingdom, spar- kling wine sales for 2016 soared past the £1 billion mark for the first time, with retail sales up 20% and direct sales up more than 50% by volume. It's fair to say that spar- kling is the hottest thing next to cli- mate change. Italy has scored a winner with Prosecco, as it now accounts for more than half the sparkling retail market in the United Kingdom alone. Meanwhile, the United King- dom's own sparkling efforts just foiled French judges in a compe- tition where an English sparkling called Nyetimber bested classic French Champagne entries. And the elite French Champagne house Tait- tinger is in the process of setting up production in the United Kingdom. With women making more pur- chasing decisions (more than 80% of wine purchases are made by them), it's no wonder Prosecco tops the list as the fastest-growing wine segment in the United States as well, with an increase of nearly 35% in 2015 over 2014. Nearly a third of those purchasing Prosecco last year did so for the first time, having not previously bought sparkling. Could it prove the "gateway wine" to high- er-end sparkling, even Champagne? Regardless of how consum - ers are getting their bubbles (in s p l i t s , c a n s , c l e v e r l y w r a p p e d bottles, works of art that remain valuable long after the liquid is gone), we point to the outrageous A r m a n d d e B r i g n a c B r u t G o l d "Ace of Spades," a lavishly gold- plated Champagne that retails for $35,000 for a 15 L Nebuchadnezzar — they're drinking more of it, and the options for presentation will continue to multiply along with the choice of what's inside. SINGLE SERVINGS MULTIPLY Nowhere is packaging more critical than in selling sparkling: it helps communicate the mes- sage of the wine inside. Accord- ing to the Wine Market Council's 2016 research, when women were asked about labels, almost half pre- ferred "traditional/classic/sophis- ticated" designs, although nearly 40% also responded well to "fun and fanciful." C l a s s i c , t a s t e f u l l a b e l s s t i l l rule the category (think Roederer, Mumm, Schramsberg), although silkscreen, etching and full bottle wraps are becoming more popular. Size matters. And tiny bottles of bubbles like the 187 mL Mosca- to or Brut Cuvee sparklers from Barefoot can be found at Safeway or on Amazon, along with Chan- don's mini classic brut and rosé o f f e r i n g s . L i k e K o r b e l 's s t y l i s h minis, they make great wedding favors. Coppola's Sofia, an effer- vescent Blanc de Blancs, comes in stylish pink 187 mL cans that can be had as a four-pack in a dec- orative pink box. Then there's Cangria, from the O'Neill Vineyard in California's Cen- tral Valley, whose red and white Sangria options come in eye candy cans. The website appeals to those who want to kick tradition squarely between the teeth with its #Start- Something message, which reads: "The routine. What's 'expected.' The path chosen for you. The fifth night in, in a row. Drinking beer, again. That Friday night you had last week and the week before and the week before that you're having tonight, again. The job you hate. The friends who bring you down. The haters. Bullies and bitches. The low-risk life. The traps and status quo. Screw 'em all. Life can be way + Sparkling wine is more popular than ever. + Brands are employing innovative packaging to stand out. + Single-serve packages, full wraps and alternative closures abound. + Expressing what's in the bottle is key. AT A GLANCE