USA, in 2020 wine consumption at +2%, driven by the growth of domestic consumption (+10%)

Among the few but important certainties that 2020 left to wine, it is that people did not give up on a good glass of wine even in pandemic times, despite everything. It is true, if we generalize, at least for the whole West, where the consumption of wine is either part of the ancient history of some countries, especially in Europe, or it is a consolidated element of identity and hedonism, for example in the United States, a fundamental and primary market for Italian wineries. With Americans who, within the walls of their homes, not only opened more bottles, but also of greater value, with Italian labels, both in still and sparkling wines, protagonists of the greatest growth ever, in a framework in which overall consumption, at least in volume, would have increased by 2% over 2019. Obviously thanks to wine sales for domestic consumption, which, as in the rest of the world, grew significantly, as shown by Iri’s full-year data, reported by Impact Databank. In the 52 weeks ended December 27, 2020, sales grew 10.1% in volume and, more importantly, 14% in value.
Data that also confirm the positive sentiment on the closing of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 collected by WineNews among some of the most important Italian wine consortia protecting some of the most popular appellations in the USA (from Brunello di Montalcino to Barolo, from Chianti Classico to Valpolicella, from Barbera d’Asti to Sicily DOC, from Prosecco DOC to Pinot Grigio delle Venezie). And, as already partially witnessed by the holding up of the bottlings of the main Italian sparkling wine denominations, as reported by WineNews (from Prosecco Doc to Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Docg, passing through Asolo Prosecco Docg, to Asti Docg), despite the lack of many social moments outside the home, bubbles were the sector that grew the most in volume. On the whole, +20.3%, with Prosecco being the best performer, with +25.5%, while Champagne, in spite of taxes, saw sales grow by 17.8%. But table wines also did well, growing by 11.3% in volume and 13.8% in value. In terms of volume, Italy grew the most, at +17.7%, whereas France stopped at +13.4%. In general, it also emerges that both among sparkling wines and still wines, the growth of imported wines, despite taxes, was higher than that of domestic wines (with Oregon’s growing the most, at +16.8%).
Looking at price ranges, the one that grew the most is the one of wines over $20 at the shelf, which scored +26.2%, while the ones between $15 and $20 grew by +20%, and the ones between $8 and $15 did +12.5%. Wines under 8 dollars per bottle, on the other hand, increased only by 3.2%. This is a sign that Americans, with restaurants and wine bars closed, have focused on higher quality wines for domestic consumption. With wines over 10 dollars per bottle that, on the whole, have moved more than half of the value on the American market, with a market share that has grown considerably compared to 40% of the total 10 years ago, for example. Data, those of Iri, reported by Impact Databank, on the whole, appear to be significant and encouraging, even for the Italian wine industry, especially in light of the fact that, most likely, the situation related to the Pandemic, will remain similar to the present one at least for a good part of 2021, with domestic consumption that will be, therefore, a primary target for wine producers all over the world.