Italy is expected to maintain its leading position in sparkling wine sales in the festive season this year, with sales set to be up in volume but down in value.

According to data released by the Wine Observatory of the Italian Union of Wines (UIV) and ISMEA, shoppers will spend less on top of the range products, including Champagne, with increased take-up of more accessible products.

Around 273 million bottles of Italian sparkling wine are expected to be sold globally (up 1.3% year-on-year), including 74 million in Italy ( down 2.3%).

However, sales in value will see an overall contraction of 9% between domestic and foreign demand.

'Greater Versatility'

According to the Secretary General of the UIV, Paolo Castelletti, the estimated sales "reward the greater versatility of the range of Italian sparkling wines [as it] reacted more flexibly to market dynamics".

More than 77 million bottles of sparkling wine will be consumed in Italy between Christmas and New Year's Eve, of which only 3.5 million will be of foreign origin, the study noted.

Overall, Christmas and New Year's Eve will see a little less uncorking (-2.8%), mainly due to a 12.3% drop in sparkling wine imports.

The study also highlighted that Italian exports of sparkling wines grew by 2.7%.

Festive Season Sales

According to the UIV-Ismea forecast, the upcoming festivities will account for 35% of annual sparkling wine sales in Italy, thanks to sales in large-scale distribution and off-trade channels. 

However, the closure of the out-of-home market due to the pandemic will cause the sector to suffer a decline of over 12%, or around €199 million.

Total production of Italian sparkling wines in 2020 will be around 776 million bottles, on a par with last year's levels.

© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.