Premium Wine Drinkers in the US Market 2014 report
Monday, 1 September, 2014
Wine Intelligence
Over a quarter of Americans are buying wine in the off premise costing over $15 per bottle, as growing consumer confidence and increasing switching from other drinks continues to drive the US wine market – now the largest in the world – to new heights.
Premium wine drinkers in the USA – those drinking wine
at least once a week and typically spending over $15 a bottle for wine to drink
at home - account for 26 per cent of the wine drinking population, but a
staggering 56 per cent of the total spend, according to analysis by Wine
Intelligence.
The 23 million consumers who can be described as Premium drinkers of wine buy
four in every 10 wine bottles sold in the US market, according to Premium Wine
Drinkers in the US Market 2014 report, published today.
The boom in sales of upscale wines means that it no longer makes sense to think
of Premium consumers as one single group, Wine Intelligence argues. Instead, it
has divided them into three segments: Popular Premiums, Super Premiums and
Ultra Premiums.
“The American wine market is evolving quickly and we don’t expect the growth to
slow down,” says Wine Intelligence chief operating office Richard Halstead.
“Premium wine drinkers are the group that all wine marketers want to target,
and there are commonalities that exist between these consumers. But there are
significant differences that the wine industry needs to grasp.
As a whole, Premium wine drinkers are statistically more likely to be male than
female, and to attach more importance to a wine’s provenance than is the case
with wine consumers as a whole.
Wine Intelligence’s new report, Premium Wine Drinkers in the US Market 2014,
provides detailed analysis of all three segments and highlights the differences
that exist in terms of how each group buys and consumes wine, and the
influences that affect those decisions.
Halstead adds: “The USA remains one of the most exciting markets for wine and
the potential for growth is huge. Premium wine drinkers are driving that
growth. These are naturally inquisitive and experimental set of consumers and
their tastes and habits will shape the market over the coming decade and
beyond".