GOMBERG-FREDRIKSON & ASSOCIATES STUDY FOR THE CALIFORNIA WINE INSTITUTE: THE WINE MARKET IN THE U.S. FALLS IN VALUE, GROWS IN VOLUME

Americans are buying less expensive wines. The value sales in the U.S. fell for the first time 15 years, but in terms of volume, grew by 0.9% in 2008, amounting to 317 million cases of wine. These numbers indicate that the recession has hit consumers of more expensive wines, rather than the consumption of wine in itself.
This is the fact that stands out from a research conducted by Gomberg-Fredrikson & Associates for the California Wine Institute. It was also revealed that the market value of U.S. wine in 2008 reached 30 billion dollars, a decrease of 1.3% compared to 2007. The last time the American wine market showed the same negative trend was in 1993, the last recorded period of recession in the U.S.
“Consumers are changing their buying habits” - said Jon Fredrikson of Gomberg-Fredrikson & Associates – “by continuing to buy their everyday wine at lower prices they are sacrificing the purchase of more expensive wines because their current vision of wine is that it is an affordable luxury”.
The impact of the recession has been widespread and complex. The volume of wine sales in restaurants fell by 10% and wholesale dealers have drastically reduced their inventories and are keeping investments at a minimum. Champagne sales fell by 3% and imported sparkling wine by 8%, while sales of American sparkling wines have increased by 1% (source: www.decanter.com).