Stateways

StateWays - November/December 2016

StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions

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StateWays | www.stateways.com | November/December 2016 38 U.S. SALES OF ALL TYPES OF SPARKLING wine are on fi re. Italy's Prosecco leads the way – up 27 percent by volume for the 52 weeks ending Sept. 10, 2016 – but France's Champagne, Spain's Cava and domestic sparkling wine all show healthy increases, too. Sales of still wine, by contrast, have increased only modestly. Why are bubbles so hot? Danny Brager, senior vice president for beverage alco- hol at Nielsen, which tracks retail sales, says that "it's not all about Prosecco," but he gives that Italian wine a lot of credit. "Prosecco defi nitely brought more people into the category," he says. Brager cites its afford- able price – an average of $12 – and trendiness. Even producers of other types of sparkling wines acknowledge Prosecco's value to the overall cate- gory. Consumers are "getting their feet wet" by try- ing Prosecco, says Nicole Lockwood, senior brand manager for Mumm Napa. "I think it's kind of a stepping stone." Bubbly-makers for years have struggled against the idea that sparkling wine is a celebratory bever- age to be drunk mostly for New Year's Eve and on occasions like anniversaries and weddings. Prosecco appears to be helping on that score, too, turning bub- bly into an everyday beverage. Brager notes that spar- kling wine sales still spike between Thanksgiving and New Year's, but Prosecco is helping to extend sales to the rest of the year. As a percentage of the overall wine market, sparkling remains small, accounting for just 6 percent by volume, according to the Beverage Information and Insights Group. Brager says that according to Nielsen data, only about one-fi fth of table wine buyers also bought bubbles in the 52 weeks ending June 30, 2016. So there's plenty of room for further growth, especially among the group of consumers that many companies appear to be targeting: Millennials. BUBBLES ATTRACT MORE AND MORE WINE CONSUMERS by LAURIE DANIEL Holiday Holiday Holiday Sparkle

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