In the first 6 months of 2021, mass retail wine sales grew +6.2%, to 926 million euros

Wine sales are still growing in mass retail and following the boom in 2020, when lockdowns and restriction catalyzed Italians to buy wine on the shelves of super and hypermarkets,and is continuing in the first half of 2021. Data from the IRI, the market research institute, on the first 6 months of 2021, which WineNews analyzed, revealed that the total turnover of wine sold in that period in Italian mass retail reached 926.55 million euros, for +6.2% increase compared to the same period in 2020. There was a decrease in volume, -1.7%, in the same period, for a total of 252 million liters of wine on the shelves of hypermarkets, supermarkets and small outlets near mass retail stores.
The bulk of the balance can be attributed to bottles, which is worth 740 million euros, or 80% of the total turnover, up +11.7% compared to the first half of 2020. In terms of typologies, Chianti Classico, at 33 million euros in sales (+7.2%), is the best performing denomination, followed by the more generic Vermentino, which in the first half of 2021 totaled a turnover of 25.7 million euros, thanks to a spectacular +32.5% growth. Chardonnay also did well, and is in third position, boasting a turnover in mass retail of 20 million euros, +7.8% compared to the first six months in 2020. The same turnover for Barbera, which however lost -1.5% in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period a year ago.
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, another strong name in mass retail, achieving a turnover of 19.8 million euros in the first six months of 2021, up +9.6% compared to the same period in 2020, followed by Traminer, at 17.7 million euros in sales (+22.8%. Closing the ranking of the most sold denominations and types on the shelves of hypermarkets and supermarkets are Bonarda, 14.3 million euros in sales (-2.5%), Müller Thurgau, at 14 million euros in turnover (+8.9%), and Sauvignon, which turnover in the first six months of 2021 reached 10.1 million euros (+23.6%).
As far as formats are concerned, bottles larger than the .75 liter, i.e. 1.5 or 2 liter bottles, lost -17.5% in turnover in the first half of 2021, stopping at 44.9 million euros. This is yet another sign, together with the drop in volumes, despite the growth in values, of premiumization found also on the shelves of mass retail, as it is constantly supplied and open to a wide and detailed selection. And, at the same time, private label wines have found more and more suitable space, achieving in these first six months of 2021 a turnover of 92.2 million euros, + 2.1% compared to 2020. Finally, wines that have been losing slightly are the sparkling wines, at 118 million euros (-0.8%), with the exception of Prosecco, which is at 12.8 million euros, growing + 11%.