Valley Wine Retailers Toast Increase in Sales
NORTH LIMA, Ohio -- Years ago, it was common for the co-owner of Chalet Premier, Bill D’Amico, to brace for what was referred to as “wine season.”
Today wine has emerged as a popular beverage year-round for adults, not just for special occasions or holidays. “We’re never out of the wine season,” D’Amico notes.
The wine industry, he relates, has done an exceptional job of marketing the product over the last decade, and the effect is felt in the form of higher sales for retailers such as Chalet Premier.
According to data provided by the Wine Institute, sales overall grew by 2% to $34.6 billion in 2012 compared to the previous year. California wines commanded a 58% share of that market, according to its research.
Off-premises retail outlets grew 15% to 175,000 stores while restaurants and other on-premise establishments increased 12% to 332,000 sites in the United States, the research found.
Last year, wine consumption in the United States hit 856 million gallons, an average of 2.73 gallons per person. In 2011, total gallons consumed stood at 836 million, the research found.
“All 50 states make wine now,” reports Chalet Premier co-owner John Potter. Interest in wine has climbed steadily since the 1970s, he notes, and has recently attracted a new audience as wineries are more common than ever, entertainment venues on networks such as the Food Channel is a draw, and foreign blends become more available in local shops.
“Thirteen years ago, when we took Chalet Premier over, there were 200 bottles or so,” Potter recalls. “Today, there are about 1,200.”
Often, a customer who doesn’t understand the wine market is at a loss as to what variety is best suited for a specific cuisine, Potter notes. Or, there are customers just getting interested in wines and unfamiliar with the styles and regions where some of the wine is made. “The most important thing to do is not oversell,” Potter says. “If a $7.99 bottle will be fine, don’t sell them a $17.99 bottle.”
Today, wines are produced on every continent except Antarctica and the number of wineries in the United States has exploded over the last 30 years or so, Potter says. “I used to consider myself an expert during the 1970s,” he laughs, when there were just 20 wineries in California. “Now you can’t begin to keep up.”
The key is finding the right wines with the right value, Potter adds. “We spend a lot of time looking for those.”
In the Mahoning Valley, white Riesling and moscato wines are very popular, observes Mark Russell, wine director at Vintage Estate Wine and Beer in Boardman. “There’s a pretty good market for those here,” he reports.
Ohio wines also sell, but the quality of local vineyards in the Mahoning Valley, for the most part, can’t match the wines made from the major vineyards in regions such as the Napa Valley, he reports. “There’s not a huge market for the very local guys,” he notes, but they have their niches.
And consumers like to be adventurous at times and sample wines from other areas of the world, Russell says. South Africa, he adds, is fast becoming a center for winemaking, and Australian wines have become more popular than ever.
Other countries such as Chile, Argentina and Spain are also producing appealing wines that local consumers enjoy, Russell says. On occasions, customers inquire about wines from countries in Eastern Europe, such as Hungary, Georgia and Romania. “We carry varietals from all over the world,” he reports.
EDITOR's NOTE: This story appears in the July print edition of The Business Journal.
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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