By Andrew Starke
New research suggests wine markets are on the verge of a revolution with Australian consumers likely to follow their US counterparts in demanding a broader range of varietals and styles.
According to a report published by the London International Wine Fair (LIWF), the next 20 years will see the American wine market driven by consumers in the important 45 – 64 age group demanding a broader range of varietals, source countries and wine styles.
The authors also argue that the current range of products available to mainstream American wine consumers do not fit this future scenario.
The report offers hope to Australian exporters as the US wine trade struggles to deliver a more diverse range of products to this new generation, while maintaining quality levels and profitability.
While it seems inevitable that imported wines will grow their share of the US wine market, they will face fierce competition from domestic wines intent on broadening their scope of style and varietal offers in red and white wines.
The rosé category in particular may be reinvented to include drier styles of wine as the traditional ‘blush’ rosé style loses ground.
“American wine consumers between 21 and 45 tend to exhibit quite different category behaviours and attitudes compared with their over-45 counterparts, and it will be interesting to see how these different tastes shape the US wine landscape in the coming years,” said Richard Halstead, COO of Wine Intelligence and the lead author of the report.
“We believe the retailers, distributors and brand owners who are prepared to embrace these changes will be the ones on top come 2030.”
Exhibition director of the London International Wine Fair, James Murray, said the US wine market represented one of the biggest opportunities for the wine world – be it producers, distributors or retailers – over the next 20 years.