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Headlines U.S. Drinks Most Wine J ANU AR Y NEWS MAY NEWS NEWS BY TE S A Washington Wines seeK iMage panel of distributors, retailers and res- taurateurs kicked off Taste Washing- Trends led nation to pass France as biggest market ton! at the Bell Harbor International Con- ference Center on the Seattle Waterfront to discuss the role of Washington state wines on the national stage. One factor helping to sell Washington wine during the past two years has been the quest for value. But if last fall's two-month "World- Class Wine in Your Own Backyard" pro- motion helped raise awareness of what is available in-state, winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keyword "identity." the battle for awareness further afield has been dogged by the state's lingering lack of identity, according to panelists. neW Wine Destination: Montana the u.s. surpassed france as the no. 1 wine-consuming country in 2010, a new report states. become the No. 1 wine-consuming nation in the world. During 2010, according to the most recent data from Gomberg, Fre- drikson & Associates, that prediction be- came a reality. According to the Gomberg-Fredrikson W 2010 Annual Wine Industry Review, the U.S. last year edged out France to become the No. 1 wine-consuming nation on earth. "It wasn't a surprise," Fredrikson told Wines & Vines. "What was a surprise was that (years ago, when we first made this prediction) we actually projected fast- er growth for the American market and a slower decrease in France. What happened was that the French consumption rate went down quicker than projected, and U.S. consumption went at a nice clip, but not as fast as predicted." Doug Goodwin, vice president of cli- ent insights for beer, wine and spirits for Symphony IRI (SIRI), said that during the past five years wine consumption has been "increasing at an increasing rate, whereas beer sales have been relatively flat, and the spirits market has been soft as well." The fact that Americans drink more wine than any other country is surpris- ing given that annual U.S. consumption stands at just 2.6 gallons per capita. 20 Wines & Vines MAY 201 1 oodside, Calif.—John Fredrik- son says it's been seven or eight years since he first projected that the United States would Still, Fredrikson maintains that a variety of factors led the U.S. wine market to this point. For example, during the past three or four decades wine has gradually crossed into the American mainstream to become an acceptable beverage to drink with dinner rather than being reserved for special occasions. Additionally, young people today adopt a penchant for wine at an earlier age—a shift particularly no- ticeable among young men, who have tra- ditionally gravitated to beer instead. According to Goodwin, whose company SIRI tracks check stand sales data, the $11-$14.99 and $15-$19.99 price points are doing exceptionally well. Goodwin says that the month of January is typically the low point for wine sales, but January 2011 showed the highest sales by value in the past five years. U.S. wine exports grew 1.9% by volume (to 47.3 million cases) and 26.6% by value (to $1.14 billion) during 2010, according to the Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates report, which analyzed data from the U.S. Depart- ment of Commerce. The European Union imports 38% of total U.S. wine exports by value, while Canada represents the No. 1 single country importing U.S. wine at 27% of total exports by value. Hong Kong, Japan and China lag behind, with 10%, less than 7% and 4%, respectively. —Kate Lavin winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keyword "Fredrikson." sion agent Pat McGlynn is in the prelimi- nary stages of putting together a project to determine which winegrapes would bring sufficient yields and quality to existing—and potential— regional wineries. The grape trials will likely favor hybrid grapes like Leon Mil- lot, Traminette and Marechal Foch as well as relatively new releases like Marquette, Frontenac and Cayuga White. S winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keyword "Montana." napa aiMs 'aheaD of the Curve' T his year's Napa Valley Grapegrowers "Ahead of the Curve" seminar focused on the role of the grapegrower in promoting wines made from his property. More and more wineries identify specific vineyards— independently owned and managed, or part of their own portfolios—on labels for their better wines. This is a big ben- efit to growers and likely helps raise price and demand for grapes from those special vineyards. It can also benefit less-known wineries that lever- age a well-known vineyard name. winesandvines.com Learn more: Search keyword "curve." upported by the local Chamber of Com- merce, Montana State University exten-