Champagne sales surged in 2011, booze headed for 2012 boost
Ringing in the New Year is hardly about the resolutions -- clearly, booze is the star. And 2012 might be alcohol’s best year in a while.
Take Champagne sales. Worldwide, shipments of the bubbly were up 5.2% during the first half of 2011, according to the trade group Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, with 335 million bottles expected to traverse the world by the end of the year.
And that’s after a harsh winter and funky spring and summer seasons led to the second-earliest harvest in the Champagne growing region since 1822, according to the Champagne group.
Shipments of the bubbly to the U.S. were up 31% from January to August 2011 compared with the same eight-month period in 2010. That’s 11.8 million bottles and counting, according to the Champagne Bureau, the U.S. member of the trade group.
The fourth quarter sees 40% of all sales of the sparkling wine, according to the bureau. Same for California-based Korbel Champagne Cellars, which says that 40% of its annual sales take place in October, November and December.
The 2010 count of 16.8 million bottles sent into the country was a 4.3 million bottle improvement from the year before, making it the industry’s first increase after three straight years of decline, according to the bureau.
While champagne will have made up the bulk of purchases at John and Pete’s Fine Wines & Spirits in West Hollywood this weekend, the owners said hard liquor, beer and wine will also be popular. The store expects that sales on New Year’s Eve will have been up to five times more than business on a standard Saturday.
This holiday season will end up far better than 2010’s, according to Constellation Brands Inc. The company, which owns names such as Robert Mondavi Winery, Arbor Mist, Corona, Estancia and Cook’s, said it has at least 20 new products ready to launch in 2012.
For the 12 weeks that ended Nov. 27, premium wines priced at $5 or more have pulled in 9% more revenue compared with the same period in 2010, according to data from Symphony IRI. So-called value wines are up only 1%.
Premium spirits are growing as well, according to the data.
California wineries made nearly $1.14 billion in export revenue through October, up nearly 23% from the same period in 2010. Export volume is up 6.4% so far, according to the Wine Institute, which says the trend probably will continue into 2012.
Alcohol sales are expected to be sightly higher in 2012, with wine sales posting a 3.5% increase, according to research group Technomic Inc. Beer sales are projected to increase 2.2% and spirits, 2.3%.
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