Writing for the “Beverage Media Group” in an article in the “Wine Industry Advisor”, Pam Strayer writes: “While the wine industry has been busy riding the pink wine wave, it is becoming clear that the “green wine” wave is worth catching as well. Millennials’ interest in organically grown wines is leading to double-digit growth in sales, say green wine industry experts. Although the sector is tiny—1% by volume and 2% by revenue, according to 2016 Nielsen data—it is one of the fastest-growing in the U.S.”
In her article, Strayer goes on to observe that: “By comparison, Europeans—who typically trend ahead of Americans in food and drink—are already drinking 10% organically grown wine. Moreover, the trend is gaining mainstream credibility every vintage, with established wineries and distributors becoming proactive category leaders.” Analyzing U.S. off-premise sales (for the period from June 2017 to 2018), Debby Wang, Commercial Director of Analytics and Insights at Breakthru Beverage Group, one of the country’s largest distributors, says: “Organically grown wines have 10% volume growth and 5% revenue growth, outpacing total wine growth which is nearly flat.”
“Organic wines have been growing at double digits, and we think this trend will continue, especially with sustainability-minded Millennials,” says Chris Indelicato, CEO and President of Delicato Family Vineyards.
Green Values, Green Lifestyles
What is driving green wine category growth? “Consumers continue to ask for products that align with their values,” says Bonterra Senior Brand Manager Taylor Johnsen. Natura’s Pavon agrees that the market is responding to preferences among younger and lifestyle-driven legal drinking age consumers: “There is more consciousness among consumers about the environment and about organics.”
In a bold experiment, one national supermarket chain, Natural Grocers, is going all-in on organic. The national, family-owned organic supermarket chain, which sells only organic produce in its 150 stores, added its first wine department in Denver last year with 500 different wines from 17 different countries—all from certified organic or biodynamic vines.
“We see organic wine as part of a lifestyle,” explains Jeff Cameron, who heads up wine at Natural Grocers. Store signage indicates different types of green wines, and Cameron trains his staff on the nuances of sulfites, biodynamics and more so they can help consumers understand each wine’s context. “We also like the storytelling aspect of these producers, which we can share with consumers,” he adds. Cameron says the chain plans to implement the program in more of its stores across the country starting with six in Oregon, and that sales in the Denver pilot are going well.
More significantly, awareness is deepening. New research shows that a majority of high frequency wine drinkers (who are responsible for about 80% of wine sales in the U.S.) correctly associate specific practices with different types of green wine certifications, according Wine Market Council survey results released in May. “What surprised me was the fact that consumers could discriminate between organic versus biodynamic,” said Damien Wilson, Associate Professor with the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University, who was a member of the WMC research committee that commissioned the study. More than 86% of 1,100 high-frequency wine drinkers identified organic with pesticide prohibitions; a surprising 51% associated biodynamic with regenerative practices.
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