Vineyard & Winery Management

November/December 2012

Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/89494

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 9 of 99

EDITOR'S DESK Slow Recovery is Better than None The year 2012 hasn't been with- out its challenges – including short- ages of grapevines, bulk wine and vineyard labor – but overall, it was a definite improvement over 2011. I don't want to invite the wrath of Mother Nature by making declara- tions before all the grapes are in, but this year's harvest in Califor- nia and the Northwest looks to be the closest to "normal" we've seen in years. Things have also improved a bit on the sales front. According to Danny Brager of the Nielsen Com- pany, who presented the compa- ny's latest year-on-year findings at the Wine Industry Financial Sympo- sium on Sept. 25, consumer confi- dence is still on the shaky side. But on the upside, on-premise wine sales made a modest come- back this year, with 1.7% growth in the second quarter of 2012. The $9-$12 price category showed the strongest growth by value and by volume, with the over-$20 category also making impressive gains. Off-premise sales are showing great promise, with wine being sold today in more retail locations than ever before. Walgreens now sells wine in 4,339 more of its stores than it did five years ago, and CVS added wine to 1,379 stores during that time. Drug stores, along with big-box stores including Walmart and Target, have surpassed both Kroger and Safeway in the number of outlets selling wine. But there are also road bumps ahead. While wine drinkers – primarily highly educated, older white folks with high incomes – are generally more recession-proof than other demographics, the United States is experiencing a cultural shift. U.S. Census figures show that 63.7% of the nation's population is currently white, while 16.3% is Hispanic. However, by 2050 the percentage of whites is predicted to drop to 45.6% and Hispanics will account for 30.8% of the population. "Frankly, the wine industry doesn't do well with non-whites," Brager pointed out. Sweet wines and wines from Spanish-speaking countries do well with Hispanics, but domestic table wines? Not so much. "If I were sitting in your shoes I wouldn't wait for accultura- tion to take care of the problem," Brager warned. He predicted a good holiday sea- son for 2012, but advised against popping the Champagne corks pre- maturely. "I think people are gener- ally feeling better, but they're still not going to go back to the ways of the past." Not yet at least. Salute! Comments? Please e-mail us at feedback@vwm-online.com. vwm-online.com 10 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT NOV - DEC 2012 WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Vineyard & Winery Management - November/December 2012