Iwsr: sparkling wine sales in 2020 -8%: Prosecco will save the category from the abyss

If there is a type of wine that has particularly suffered from the economic situation of the last year, with the pandemic that has kept closed for long periods the shutters of bars and restaurants in most of the western world, it is the sparkling wine. Wines linked to celebrations, parties, aperitifs and sharing, do not lend themselves well to home consumption, so much so that the drop in consumption, according to the estimates of the “Wine & Spirits Record” signed by Iwsr - International Wine & Spirits Research, amounted to -8%. All in all, better than expected. The merit, in percentage terms, according to Iwsr’s figures, is due to Prosecco. In total, in 2020, sales of all types of sparkling wines stopped at 240 million cases (or 2.88 billion bottles). Prosecco Doc lost 7% of shipments (reaching 452 million bottles), Prosecco Docg just 2% (closing at 100 million bottles), Champagne lost even 18% (for a total of 245 million bottles), and Cava 14% (stopping at 215.6 million bottles). Going back to the pandemic situation, in terms of business volumes and consumption, according to Iwsr, we will have to wait until 2022, if not 2023.