US wine consumption still climbing

Wine consumption in the US has continued to rise over the last year with domestic wines, sweet reds and blends leading the way.

According to the Beverage Information Group’s 2012 Wine Handbook, wine consumption grew 3% in 2011 to 312 million cases worth US$27.8bn – with the on-trade accounting for 43.8% of its value.

Part of the on-trade’s success has been the slight improvement in the economy, allowing more people to spend money on a night out.

Wines from California, Washington and Oregon remain the market leaders but wines from Argentina, Italy and Spain were very successful too and it is thought that as millennial drinkers continue to explore other wines, so the market’s scope will expand in the near future.

Furthermore, the Beverage Information Group’s senior research analyst, Adam Rogers, said that there was still room for the market to grow overall.

He stated: “As consumers discover new varietals, regions and price points, overall wine consumption is expected to continue to increase over the next five years.”

The group predicted that the US market would grow to 317m cases this year. The findings back up comments made by Vinfolio chairman Jean-Michel Valette MW, who told the Fine and Rare Specialist course in Vienna earlier this year that he believed the US was a much larger fine wine market than was previously thought.