Wine in large-scale distribution: still wines down, sparkling wines hold. Prices at +5/6% on 2022

A little more than 512 million liters sold (438.4 of still wines and 73.5 of sparkling wines) for 2.3 billion euros: this is the overall balance of wine in large-scale distribution (excluding Discounts) in Circana’s data (up to December 24), and, therefore, in fact emblematic of all of 2023, analyzed by WineNews, relating to sales in Iper and Supermarkets and small free service. “With an unshaken December 2023, in line with the trend of the year, with volumes in weak recovery, and an overall positive result for bubbles, and negative, but less than 2022, for still wine” explains Virgilio Romano, Circana account director.
In detail, since the beginning of the year, still wine has done -3.3% in volumes, moving €1.8 billion in value, with prices 6% higher, on average, than in 2022. By contrast, sparkling wines in the 12 months did 0.5%, and with average prices up +5% (and an average price per liter, overall around 4.4 euros, or 4.1 for still wine and 7.6 for sparkling wines, ed.). Curious is the figure for December, which (except for the last week of the year), penalized sparkling wines more (-2.9% over December 2022) than still wine (-0.9%).
“While outlining better results than 2022”, Romano points out, “sparkling wines, in December 2023, traveled below the expectations accrued in the second half of the year”. A small signal, yet another, while waiting for definitive and more in-depth data, of a wine market that offers less and less certainty.