Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/907666
32 WINES&VINES December 2017 THE BIGGEST AND BEST OF 2O17 "I think Cabernet is king. It's still as hot as ever," said retailer Gary Fisch, owner of Gary's Wine & Marketplace with three locations in New Jersey. Even though his stores stock a lot of Bordeaux, Spanish wines and other imports, "They always come back to Cabernet. When people buy wine to have in the house, to stock up, they buy Cabernet. They buy Chardonnay when they need it." The broadest measure of success for the grape variety that originated in Bordeaux hun- dreds of years ago from a chance crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc comes from the massive off-premise sales data set compiled by market-research firm IRI. Growth in off-premise wine sales in general has been slow and steady at 3% this year, yet Cabernet Sauvignon grew by 5% from a huge base. Trends within the varietal saw bottles priced $20-$24.99 and $25-plus having the strongest sales growth, at 16% and 15% respectively, pointing to willingness by con- sumers to trade up. Cabernet in less expensive price segments grew dramatically, too, even as average-priced bottles dipped slightly. This reflected, in part, strong competition. The biggest price reduc- tions took place in the $8-$10.99 and $11- $14.99 segments, even as sales in the segments increased 5% and 9%, respectively. Meanwhile, the biggest growth rate was among premium boxed Cabernet Sauvignon selling at $4.50 per 750 ml and up; sales in the latest 52 weeks increased 21%. Cabernet Sauvignon is the top-selling varietal or wine type in direct-to-consumer (DtC) shipments from U.S wineries, which overall saw value and volume grow in sync, with each rising 17% from 2016 levels. Cabernet Sauvignon alone saw a $748 million move in 12 months through August, also up 17% from a year earlier. "Our direct trends are really good, with Cab being the most popular red varietal," Emilie Eliason, vice president of marketing with Crimson Wine Group, told Wines & Vines. Crimson's Cabernet brands include Pine Ridge Vineyards in Napa and Double Canyon in eastern Washington. Single- vineyard wines from Double Canyon sell for $65 per bottle, while Fortis, the highest tier brand offered by Pine Ridge, sells for $225 per bottle. "We're seeing record sales in terms of —continued from page 31 "They always come back to Cabernet. When people buy wine to have in the house, to stock up, they buy Cabernet" —Gary Fisch, Gary's Wine & Marketplace