Avenue Vine

Year-on-year, sales have risen 6 percent in the 52 weeks ending June 30, while case volume has grown again by 3 percent. Dollar sales are continuing to outpace case sales, currently by about double, meaning consumers are still buying more wine at higher prices than before. This is a trend that has sustained itself for well over two years, though has continued to slow down from a three-to-one margin in recent quarters.

As always, the "big three" varietals still dominate the retail arena. Chardonnay sales rose 2 percent in the 13 weeks ending June 30. By case volume, Chardonnay was up 1 percent in the June data, identical to last month. Chardonnay is still the top-selling varietal in the Nielsen Company-tracked marketplace with a 23 percent market share in sales and 20 percent share in volume.

Red wine sales are continuing to surge. Cabernet Sauvignon increased both sales and case volume by 13 percent in the 13 weeks ending in late June. Like Chardonnay, both figures are identical to last month's figures.

Merlot sales are also strong, fully recovered from the dip it took in the latter half of 2006. Merlot sales rose by 4 percent in the 13 weeks ending June 30, 2007, up 1 percent. In terms of case volume, the varietal grew 6 percent in the June data, also up 1 percent. Merlot sales have been increasing for more than six months. Some vineyard experts speculate the variety is headed from being over-supplied to be in short supply within the next several years.

Domestic wine sales gained 6 percent in the 13 weeks ending June 30, 2007 over the same period in 2006, while imports rose 8 percent in the same time period. In terms of case volume, domestic wines grew by 3 percent and imported wines grew by 6 percent. In both dollar and case volumes, domestic wine sales were identical to last month, while imports increased 1 percent.

The imported wine landscape has changed somewhat. For years, Australian wines have held the top spot in dollar share, but that is no longer the case. Italian wines now hold a 10 percent share of the sales market, the largest in the import category by a razor-thin margin. Australian wines claim 9.8 percent of the market in the 13 weeks ending June 30, 2007. However, both countries claim an identical 10 percent market share in the 52-week data.

Given their respective growth rates, it was inevitable that Australia would lose the top spot. Australian wines have been growing by 3 to 4 percent growth for the last several months, while Italian wine sales have grown by about 7 to 8 percent over the same timeframe.

In terms of case volume, though, Australia still holds a comfortable lead over Italy with an 8.6 percent market share while Italy claims 7.6 percent. As both countries have growth rates of 5 percent in the 13 weeks ending June 30, 2007, it is unclear how each country is progressing. Italian wine growth rates had been outpacing those of Australian wines over the last several months. If those rates were to continue over the next several months

Source: “Overall Wine Sales Up 7 Percent in June,” Mary-Colleen Tinney, August 20, 2007