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D A T A CENTER Domestic Wine Sales Jump 8% in March Dollar Versus Volume Growth S an Rafael, Calif.—Domestic table wine sales dramatically in- creased their year-on-year rate of growth to nearly 8% in the four weeks ending March 20, after perking along at around 6% growth for many months. The Symphony IRI Group (SIRI) recorded $345 million in sales for this category at the major food and drug stores where it analyzes check stand scan data. March is typically one of the slow months of the year for off- premise wine sales, and indeed the March total in dollars was slightly smaller than February's total. Still the noteworthy jump in the growth rate over 2010 must be heartening to wineries and re- tailers that have been wondering when the wine industry recovery would really take hold. The percentage change in volume of wine sold versus last March was only up 6% for domestic table wines, meaning that the nice spike in dollar sales did not come from discounted prices. It ap- peared that prices had firmed, and at least some had increased. Some imports grew during the first quarter First quarter totals from SIRI showed that despite the overall uptick for domestic wines, imports in two of the highest price segments grew faster than domestics. Imports priced from $11 to $14.99 out- paced domestics 13% to 6% in dollar sales. Imports from $15 to $19.99 grew at a blistering pace of 27% versus domestics at 8%. Imports in these segments grew faster in volume than dollars, however, indicating the reverse of the domestic wine situation. "Imports are really deep discounting compared to the do- mestic wines," ob- served Doug Good- win, SIRI's vice president of client insights for wine, beer and spirits. "We warned domestic producers to keep an eye on imports." Despite good growth for domestic wines, imports in two of the highest price segments grew even faster by discounting. The accompanying graphs compare domestic and import sales growth for the first three months of 2011 in SIRI's three highest price segments. It's easy to see that domestic wine growth was nearly identical in dollars and in volume at these price points. "Domestics are stabilized at their price levels," Goodwin said. The high-priced imports, by contrast, grew several percentage points higher in volume than they did in dollars. Bottle prices for imports dropped by 53 cents, 90 cents and 77 cents in these three segments. What's hot, what's not First-quarter totals by varietal showed that Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio/Gris were the hottest of the big sellers between $11 and $14.99 in terms of dollar sales growth. Among $15 to $19.99 wines, red blends and Riesling led the major varietals. At the $20- plus level, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc grew the fastest of the large volume varietals. White Zinfandel stood out in the first quarter in the two next-to- the-top price tiers. Sales grew at 56% and 61% from a very small base. Few White Zinfandels have been priced at $11 or more in recent years, so this might be a trend to watch. 14 Wines & Vines MAY 201 1 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Domestic Table Wine, Change Versus Year Ago Volume % Change Dollar % Change 22% 21% 6% 7% $11-$14.99 8% 9% $15-$19.99 Price Segment /750 ml Imported Table Wine, Change Versus Year Ago 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% Volume % Change Dollar % Change 27% 18% 13% 8% $11-$14.99 $15-$19.99 Price Segment /750 ml Sales rates in major U.S. food and drug stores. Imported wine sales in three premium price segments grew faster in volume than dollars in the first quarter, indicating price discounting, while domestic wine dollars and volume growth were nearly equal. $20+ 12% 34% $20+ Oregon led the states in sales growth percentage during the first quarter, adding 19% more dollars than first quarter of 2010. California, with about 80 times the sales volume of Oregon, grew steadily at 6%, while Washington (the No. 2 state in wine produc- tion) managed 4% growth. The hot list of import countries starts with Argentina. The South American country's dollar sales at retail went up 34% in the first quarter on the strength of fast-selling Malbec. New Zealand was the second-fastest growing import, up 24% over first quarter of 2010. Italian wines improved their growth rate to 11%, while Australian wines—the biggest category of imports in SIRI's da- ta—dropped 10%. —Jim Gordon