 In all four countries-UK, US, Europe and China, it emerges that wine drinkers everywhere are concerned about alcoholic strength, seeking out wines with lower alcohol levels than before. In the UK, US and German markets, around a quarter of regular wine drinkers say their ideal wine would have less than 10.5% alcohol. In China, most consumers favour wines with 8.5% to 10.5% by volume- clearly encouraging news for producers who are investing heavily in their lower-alcohol ranges.
In the UK, drinkers aged 18-34 are even more keen on low and very low alcohol wines than the older vintages. The research also found that more than 40% drinking white wines prefer alcohol levels to be 11-12.5%.
In the US, younger consumers say they are looking for less alcoholic alternatives, though it’s the older generation that has the greatest enthusiasm for very low alcohol wines. Almost one in five regular wine drinkers aged 55 and above say their ideal wine would have 5.5% to 8% alcohol.
Germans are associated with lighter wine styles and it’s no surprise to see this preference reflected in the research with more than a quarter of the consumers questioned said that their ideal wine would be 8.5% to 10.5% abv (alcohol by volume).
Country of Origin
Consumers in all four countries regard country of origin as an important issue when describing an ideal wine, led by China where 88% of wine drinkers list it as a priority. 71% in UK, 82% in Germany and 74% while in the USA felt the same.
Despite the favourable reported position as number one selling country in the UK Retail, Australia ranks only second in choice as consumers’ favourite wine in the UK with France as the most popular choice. This preference was found to be even stronger among 18 to 34 year olds.
France also led the field in the Chinese research, but Chile came second, followed by China, Italy and Australia. Chile’s position is a surprise compared with the sales data, suggesting that the recent efforts by the country to increase its visibility in China have started perhaps paying dividends.
Organic, sustainable and Fair Trade
The research found widespread interest in organic, sustainably produced and fair trade wines, particularly among German and Chinese consumers. 86% of Chinese wine drinkers regard these credentials as important in their ideal wine. While 67% of Germans feel the same way, in the USA it drops to 42% with UK drinkers least concerned at just 34%.
Give me Red
In the red China where red and gold are considered lucky, it was not surprising to find 4 out of 5 preferring red wine. Perhaps for the similar reason Rosé was the second choice. Surprisingly Germany known for its white wine and only recently emerging as a good red wine producer, over half the people (57%) would want red wine. 49% Americans made this choice in the study while the English are more inclined towards white with only 44% choosing red as their favourite wine. White wine was expectedly the second choice in UK, Germany and the USA.
Grape variety was considered the most important factor when buying wine. More than 80% of respondents in the UK, China and Germany said grape variety influenced the buying decision while a whopping 93% in the US felt the same. A quarter of respondents in the UK said Merlot and Pinot Grigio were their favourite grape varieties whereas US and China said that Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay were their favourites. Germans preferred their native varieties Dornfelder and Riesling.
Pricing in Germany
Although the average off-trade price of a bottle of wine is €3 in German supermarkets and € 2.30 in discount store according to the earlier statistics released by the German Wine Institute a year ago, regular wine drinkers say, the ideal average price the Germans are willing to pay is €4.86 Euro. For red wines, they are willing to go even beyond €5.
Closures
Cork closures were considered the most appropriate for an ideal wine in Germany, USA and China, according to the study. But in the UK, consumers are equally happy with screw-caps; they prefer them as a closure for their ideal white wine.
Prowein takes place in Dusseldorf from 4-6 March. 10 Indian companies are taking part under the aegis of the Indian Grape Processing Board (IGPB). It will be a great opportunity to taste some of the recent additions to the Indian portfolio and our European readers are advised to check out and taste these wines and evaluate the improvements that have taken place in recent times.
Meininger group is showcasing wines from BRIC nations, which include wines from Sula and Four Seasons representing India. A report on the tasting will be written up by well-known British writer and author Robert Joseph and will go into the April edition of the magazine.
Source: Messe- Düsseldorf Press Office
KuhnC@messe-duesseldorf.de |