MILLENNIALS LOVE BUBBLY Younger wine drinkers appear to be the most willing to consume sparkling wine throughout the year . They ’ re also helping to drive the overall growth of the category .

The Wine Market Council found that significantly larger percentages of people in their 20s and 30s report regularly drinking sparkling wine sometime during the year , compared with older age groups .

“ Millennials have attached themselves to the ( sparkling ) trend ,” Velez says .

The conventional wisdom is that younger people might balk at spending $ 40 , $ 50 or more for a bottle of bubbles . However , some retailers report that Champagne sales are strong in that age group . “ The younger crowd drinks a lot of Champagne ,” says Tim Alberdi , owner of the Redneck Wine Co . in Tampa , Fla . He cites the success of so-called grower Champagne in his store .

Still , most retailers see brisk sales in the lower price categories . Alberdi , for example , says , “ We sell a lot of the under- $ 20 California stuff .” Less expensive French wines , like Crémant d ’ Alsace , also sell well in his store . Meenu Singh , manager of the Wine Specialist in Washington , D . C ., calls $ 20 the “ sweet spot .”

RISE OF SPARKLING ROSÉ The rosé trend in still wines has also extended into sparkling wine .

“ I ’ m seeing a lot more sparkling rosé come across my desk ,” Gelb says . And the wines are performing so well at Total Wine that store displays have been reconfigured to group all the sparkling rosés together , he says , instead of putting , for example , rosé Champagne with the other Champagnes .

“ Rosé has been booming ,” says Xavier Barlier , senior vice president of Maisons , Marques & Domaines USA , Champagne Louis Roederer ’ s U . S . sales and marketing arm . He says MMD has sold out all of the Roederer rosés it carries , both French and domestic , including the version from Roederer-owned Scharffenberger .

Rosé , Pechdo says , has “ helped us … get more consumers to Champagne .” Rosé Champagne is more expensive , but consumers are willing to pay for it , she adds .

The power of rosé is such that the Prosecco DOC Consortium is considering certifying a Prosecco Rosé DOC , starting in 2019 . The wine would be a blend of Glera , the traditional white grape and pinot noir . A number of prosecco makers , including Mionetto , make rosé , but it can ’ t be called prosecco under the current regulations . has seen 20 to 30 % growth in sales of single-serving bubbly for some months . ( Admittedly , that ’ s on a small base .) “ If I open up a 750 of sparkling , I ’ m committed to drinking the whole bottle ,” he says . Single-serving bottles ( and cans ) “ make sparkling wine that much more accessible .”

Mionetto ’ s Ceola agrees . “ We see more consumers appreciating the single serving . They don ’ t have to open the whole bottle .” He says the format is “ growing probably faster than the regular 750s .”

Mionetto is just one of the prosecco producers that have found success with the so-called minis . La Marca is the leading producer , according to the Prosecco DOC Consortium , which also notes that minis are sold only in the U . S . La Marca ’ s Gatto says the minis ’ “ inviting size ” attracts new consumers .

Moët is one Champagne producer that has wholeheartedly embraced the small format . Butel calls the Moët mini “ another opportunity to go beyond the traditional occasions ” for Champagne . The company has even developed vending machines for the minis for a few on-premise accounts , as well as a device called a “ sipper ,” a conical insert that allows consumers to drink directly from the small bottle .

“ New products bring new consumers to Champagne ,” Butel says .

One of those new products is Moët Ice Imperial : a sweeter , more condensed bubbly that ’ s meant to be served over ice . A rosé version was recently introduced . Veuve Clicquot has its own versions : Rich and Rich Rosé .

With new products , younger drinkers and its growing popularity throughout the year , sparkling wines ’ growth shows no signs of going flat . The Beverage Information and Insights Group projects that consumption of sparkling wine will continue to grow about 6 % a year , compared with 2017 figures , through 2021 .

“ Across the board , the sparkling category is very healthy ,” Gelb says . BD

PHOTO CREDIT : © ISTOCK . COM / AZMANL

SINGLE-SERVING AND OTHER INNOVATIONS Yet another factor driving growth is the introduction of new products , especially single-serving packaging .

Although some of the more traditional bottle shops don ’ t deal much with the small bottles , Gelb estimates that Total Wine

A NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RESIDENT , Laurie Daniel has written about wine for more than 20 years . Her wine column appears in several California newspapers , and her articles have appeared in magazines such as Wines & Vines , Food & Wine , Wine Country Living , Drinks and the Wine Enthusiast .

18 Beverage Dynamics • November / December 2018 www . beveragedynamics . com