(Finance) – Wine consumption in the United States continues to decline. Augustdetects theUiv observatory based on Sipsourcemark “one of the worst months of the last two years (-13%) for overall wine sales” and brings the cumulative figure since January to -8% in volume. Italy – thanks to sparkling wines – hardly shows the glass half full but only in consideration of the worst performances of the competitors. The partial tricolor in the 8 months – according to the calculations of the Italian Wine Union on the American distributors’ platform – it stops at -5.7% in volume and -4.4% in value, against an overall average of consumption respectively at -8.3% and -7.4%. However, the only thing dampening the decline in Italian sales are sparkling wines which, despite a slight decline in August (-1.5%, much less than the general Italian 8.8%), remain in positive territory in the first 8 months (+1.5 %). However, the situation is very different for still wines, with whites (-13% compared to August) and paired reds at -8% and rosés at -11%.
“If on the one hand – said the general secretary of Italian Wine Union (Uiv), Paolo Castelletti – the export numbers to the USA indicate a still rather solid positive sign in July, on the other hand the persistent decline in actual products released for consumption represents a rather serious alarm bell. The hope is that now, with the rate cut and the upcoming presidential elections, they can be signs of a reversal of direction on a market strongly affected by the decline in purchasing power. Proof of this – concluded Castelletti – is that the month of August saw the consumption of our wines on-premise sink to -15%.
According to the findings of the Uiv Observatory, lhe sparkling wine locomotive has now come to represent 35% of Italian wine sales in the United States compared to a general share of sparkling in the USA that remains at 9%. A type, that of tricolor bubbles, which – thanks to wine cocktails – is growing despite everything and in absolute contrast to the overall sparkling market (-7.4% volumes) and French champagnes, in deep red at -13%. There cavalcade of sparkling wines and Prosecco – which is the best-selling Italian product overseas – is driven this year in particular byAsolo Prosecco (volumes at +15%) and Prosecco Treviso (+6%) while Prosecco Doc loses almost 6 points. On the other hand, among the still denominations most requested in US shops it is difficult to find any positive signs: apart from the growth of Brunello di Montalcino (+5%) and the stability of Chianti Classico, the volumes marketed turn negative for all the main flags of Made in Italy, from Chianti Docg (-16%) to Doc Toscana (-13%), from Pinot Grigio delle Venezie (-9%) to Barolo (-6%).