Prosecco drives Americans to sparkling

18 million Americans now drink sparkling wine at least once a week as Prosecco sales surge in the US, according to a report released last night by Wine Intelligence.

Within the past year there have been substantial advances for Prosecco and Cava in the US market. Photo credit: Tanners Wines

According to the researchers, the growing habit among Americans of “everyday celebration”, and increased prominence of imported sparkling wine styles, especially Prosecco, appears to be driving the market, and pushing sales past 20 million cases a year.

Domestic sparkling wine remains the dominant sub-category, and Wine Intelligence Vinitrac studies show that for sparkling wine drinkers in the US, it’s very difficult to find anyone who doesn’t drink domestic fizz.

Yet just within the past year there have been substantial advances for Prosecco and Cava; 1 out of 5 sparkling drinkers in the US now consume more of these two sparkling wine types than they did 12 months ago.

Champagne, which has long been the dominant sparkling import in the US, is facing fresh competition from producers in Australia and New Zealand.

Juan Park, Wine Intelligence’s research director, said: “The sparkling wine category is the star of global wine industry growth and the US is no exception. The move to more informal occasions away from formal celebrations is opening up a lot more opportunities for innovation.”

As reported by the drinks business last year, global sales of Prosecco have overtaken Champagne: the Italian sparkler shifted 307 million bottles in 2013, while Champagne sales lagged behind at 304 million bottles.