Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Sales of wine soar as bubbly and prosecco become everyday tipples

A big increase in wine sales has largely been driven by a huge growth in the demand for sparkling wines.

Lee Williams
Monday 12 October 2015 18:31 BST
Comments
Sales of sparkling wines like prosecco are driving the boost in wine consumption.
Sales of sparkling wines like prosecco are driving the boost in wine consumption. (Mireya Acierto/Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Britons are drinking more wine at home than ever with bubbly becoming an everyday tipple, according to a new study.

We guzzled an extra 29.7 million litres of wine at home last year, splashing out a massive £5.2 billion according to trade magazine, The Grocer.

The rise of 3.7 per cent was driven largely by a huge boost in sales of sparkling wine, particularly prosecco. Sales of bubbly rose 15.9 per cent to £634.4 million.

The boom in prosecco has particularly benefited own-label sparkling wines with sales up an extra £40.4 million last year, according to the magazine.

The figures show a change in consumers’ tastes, with sparkling wines becoming more of an everyday tipple than a luxury for a special occasion, according to analysts.

'The strong performance of sparkling is a consequence of deeper promotions, greater visibility and secondary sitings as Prosecco and Champagne become everyday choices,' David Elliot of analysts Kantar Worldpanel told The Grocer.

And growth in still wine sales – up £166.6 to £4.6 billion – was largely down to drinkers trading up, according to Ben Smith, head of communications at winemaker Concha y Toro.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in