The biggest growth country is Italy, fuelled by high demand for Prosecco, with more than 360,000
more nine-litre cases (9lc) sold in the past 12 months than in the 12 months before that, equating to an uptick in sales of 7.3%.
"Looking specifically at sparkling Italian wine, this figure jumps to over 450,000 9lc – and an eye-watering 63.2% growth figure. With Glera also the varietal in fastest growth across the market, it is clear that Prosecco is continuing to increase its dominance,” said CGA senior development manager Mark Newton.
Prosecco's rate of growth
Perhaps not so surprisingly, especially considering Prosecco’s rate of growth, Champagne is seeing a decline in both value and volume sales. It is unlikely this trend will tip in the opposite direction any time soon, especially since the Champagne houses see little reason to reduce prices and enter into a pricing war with Prosecco.
Newton added: “Even when New World countries might be seen to be suffering negatively from this onslaught, there are many beacons of positivity for some of the key quality southern hemisphere producers – particularly Argentina and New Zealand.
“It appears that the current key to success for the New World, and indeed the whole market, is premium quality, ideally matched with (relative) good value pricing.”
- All data supplied by CGA OPMS, MAT to 12/08/17, ranked in volume and covering total brand sales (unless specified otherwise)