Article written by Peter Bailey, Manager, Market Insights at Wine Australia.
According to IWSR, global sparkling wine sales totalled 284 million 9L cases valued at US$35 billion in 2021.
This makes sparkling wine the second biggest wine category globally behind still wine, with an 11 per cent volume share and 17 per cent value share in 2021. The higher value share highlights the much higher average price paid for sparkling wine at US$10.30 per bottle compared to still wine at US$6.20.
Sparkling wine has been the fastest growing wine category since 2000, with the value of sales growing at an average annual rate of five per cent over the period. In comparison, the value of still wine grew at two per cent per annum over the same time period.
Like all categories, sparkling wine sales were hit by the pandemic in 2020, with value down five per cent in 2020. However, the category rebounded strongly in 2021, with value up by 17 per cent. While IWSR has forecast the value of sparkling sales to grow by two per cent per annum out to 2026 to reach US$40 billion, inflation may have an impact on sales in the next 12 to 18 months.
France and Italy are the dominant sparkling wine producers with a combined 70 per cent value share of global sparkling wine sales. Australian sparkling wine is ranked seventh.
The United States is the biggest sparkling wine market in the world with sales of just over $6 billion in 2021. France is the second biggest market at $4 billion but 93 per cent is domestic sparkling wines, including Champagne. The United Kingdom is the third biggest market with sales of $3.7 billion and the second largest imported sparkling wine market.
Italy is similar to France in that its domestic sparkling wines dominate the market with an almost 90 per cent value share. Australia is a significant sparkling wine market with $1.3 billion in sales, ranking number seven globally – 55 per cent of the value sold is domestic sparkling wine and 45 per cent imported, which is mainly Champagne and Italian sparkling.
According to IRI MarketEdge, the value of sparkling wine sales in the Australian off-trade market grew by 22 per cent in 2020–21 and five per cent in 2021–22. Domestic sparkling wine sales grew by 14 per cent and three per cent respectively over the same time periods. Imported sparkling wines grew by higher rates of 34 per cent and six per cent, driven by sales of Champagne.
For domestic bottled sparkling wines, $20.00 to $29.99 per bottle is the biggest segment, with just over a third of the value of total domestic botted sparkling wine sales. It has also been the growth driver over the last two years, with sales value up 30 per cent in 2020–21 and 10 per cent in 2021–22. In comparison, sales below $15 per bottle have declined.
This article originally appeared in the November issue of National Liquor News.