Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/620640
uch has been written lately about the popularity of Mosca- to and the sparkling wine cat- egories, but if you've been paying attention, you've noticed that there is an interesting subculture of fizzy wines developing. It goes far beyond the now well-defined categories of Moscato, Champagne, U.S. sparkling wine, Prosecco and Cava. No one – not Nielsen, not anyone – is really tracking the sub-category of lightly carbonated wines, likely because it is multifaceted and poorly defined. It is a not-exact- ly-this and not-exactly-that cate- gory, but anyone in the business can tell you that it is growing. Vinho Verde from Portugal has been growing at 5% year- over-year for five years running, according to Bruno Almeida, product manager for the Vinho Verde Wine Commission. Not all Vinho Verde is carbonated, but much of it receives about one or two bars of pressure at the bottling line to give it a touch of effervescence. Txakoli, the tart, simple, delicately fizzy wine enjoyed in Basque pintxo bars for about one euro per glass can now be found in hipster wine bars in New York and San Francisco for $10 a glass or $30 a bottle. And Lam- brusco, once considered hope- lessly declassé, has enjoyed a renaissance in the wine world's most pretentious circles. For those seeking something beyond Moscato, there is Stel- la Rosa Rosso, a low-alcohol, MARKET WATCH TIM TEICHGRAEBER bubbly red from Southern California- based Riboli Family Wines. This light, affordable red frizzante is approach- ing 1 million cases in annual sales. And if you haven't tried Ceretto's Blangé Arneis from Piedmont, pre- pare to have your mind blown. If you don't appreciate that wine, you are probably dead inside. DOMESTIC OPPORTUNITY There are two things that I find particularly interesting about this carbon- ated wine trend. T h e f i r s t i s t h a t t h e s e f r i z z a n t e wines have broad appeal across age groups, ethnicities, e c o n o m i c c l a s s - e s a n d c u l t u r e s . These low-alcohol, bubbly wines are certainly easy to a p p r e c i a t e , a n d they clearly appeal t o n e w b i e s a n d cork dorks alike. The second thing that surprises me a b o u t t h i s t r e n d i s t h a t s o m a n y American wineries a r e m i s s i n g o u t on it. C o n s t e l l a t i o n has a fizzy Pinot G r i g i o f i n i s h e d with a bottle cap c a l l e d O o h L a La. Bon Affair is Fizzy Wines Are Bubbling Up Everywhere U.S. wineries should take advantage of the frizzante trend Several hundred thou- sand cases of Stella Rosa Rosso, a semi- sweet, lightly carbon- ated red wine, are sold in the United States each year. + Moscato's wild popular- ity has been well publi- cized, but a less-visible category of lightly fizzy wines is trending. + From Vinho Verde to Txakoli, these wines have broad consumer appeal. + Few American wineries are taking advantage of the trend. + Another style of wine in the trendy fizz category is pétillant-naturel or méthode ancestrale, made by bottling before the primary fermenta- tion is complete. AT A GLANCE w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m J a n - F e b 2 016 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 2 3