As this graph shows, 80% of American wine sales in 2016 came from bottles that cost $15 or less. A tiny 5% came from bottles that are $25 or more. (Note that these stats are in dollars, not bottles - so measured by sheer volume of wine the skew would look even greater.)
This jives with something I noticed when I was consulting for a wine and spirits company: the term "premium" seemed to be thrown around pretty cavalierly. I discovered that "premium" referred to any bottle of wine between $6 and $8. Higher than that? "Super-premium," topping out at $10. Higher still? "Ultra-premium," ending at $15. More expensive than that? "Luxury," used so infrequently it seemed irrelevant.
Don't get me wrong - I'm pleased as (very expensive) punch to be trying an Inniskillin Icewine rather than a Rex Goliath Sangria. But I can't help doubting we're getting a full picture of the industry by focusing on the good stuff that moves tastemakers - rather than the good-enough stuff that moves dollars. Perhaps a side-by-side sip of what's premium to most people, versus what's premium to us, would expand our minds along with our palates.
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/274355/us-wine-sales-share-by-bottle-price-range/
(comes from Nielsen data)
Really enjoyed this post. Would love to try more of the low end stuff to see if it is actually distinguishable from some of the high end labels. How much of the total dollar figure for the high end wines is due to marketing vs high quality? I'll bet our class couldn't tell the difference in a blind taste test between a $5 bottle and a $30 bottle......
ReplyDeleteWe'll be doing a similar blind tasting in the near-term, Larsen-have no fear.
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