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U.S. Projected To Move Ahead Of Italy In Wine Consumption

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By WALTER NICHOLLS, The Washington Post

Published: January 9, 2008

Americans are drinking more and better wine and love a dependable bargain bottle, which is increasingly easier to find.

And with every sip, we are breaking records: For the 15th consecutive year, wine consumption in the United States was projected to rise in 2007, after a 4 percent gain in 2006.

Projected estimates for 2007 have the nation reaching a record of 304 million cases of wine consumed. That will, for the first time, place the United States ahead of Italy in per-capita consumption, trailing only France, according to the 2007 wine market report by Impact Databank.

At the current rate of growth, Americans will overtake the French by 2015.

A host of factors has contributed to the steady rise, the report says, including publicity about the potential health benefits of red wine, sustained increases in the number of new drinkers of legal age, growing numbers of women with high incomes in the work force and, more important, how wine is marketed.
Industry consultants say wine has become more approachable. Something as simple as an image of an animal on a label, such as Yellow Tail's bouncing wallaby, has broken down barriers.

"Highfalutin turns people off," says wine consultant Jon Fredrikson, publisher of the Gomberg-Fredrikson Report. "People see Yellow Tail, the largest-selling brand in U.S. food stores based on volume, and they say, 'Gee, this is down-to-earth.'"

Still, buyers are not necessarily looking for the cheapest bottle in the bin.

"People expect higher quality in everything they buy, and wine has become a badge of quality," says Barbara Insel of MKF Research in St. Helena, Calif. Five years ago, wine drinkers were spending $6 to $8 a bottle; now the number is up to $10 to $15.

"I call it the Costco definition of value," Insel says. "They are not looking for cheap wine. They are looking for a deal on quality."

Americans continue to prefer chardonnay above all other varieties, with sales of 64 million cases projected last year, according to Wine Spectator magazine. That is the wine most consumers know best.

The most devoted chardonnay drinkers are 60 or older, with 38 percent counting it as a favorite. Tastes are changing, however.

Women continue to buy more wine than men. But younger men are discovering wine.

"The typical 21- to 35- year-old male is a beer drinker when he is with other males. But when he is with a woman, he drinks wine because wine is considered less rowdy," Insel says. "And these young people have little brand loyalty. They don't care where it comes from or about the label."

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