Market Watch, Summer 2020
In recent weeks weve seen momentum at all price points including the higher end Maturana says Its likely that consumers who traditionally turn to the on premise are now exploring purchases of higher end wines in the off premise so growth in that segment looks good Fundamentally the wallet has changed with folks shopping more at the supermarket or online Theyve been cooking at home and we see them spending a bit more on wine to dine with there Unquestionably the overall surge in off premise wine sales caused by Covid 19 has lifted Chile enormously Chilean wine sales were declining by 7 in IRI channels prior to Covid 19 but have been growing at a rate of 13 since the start of the pandemic says Mark Merrion executive vice president of sales at Delicato Family Wines which markets Chilean wine brand Viña Santa Rita in the U S Santa Rita does over 400000 cases in the U S according to Impact Databank making it the No 2 Chilean brand in the market Delicato takes a two tier approach with the Santa Rita portfolio deploying its national sales force to handle the brands popularly priced labels like the 120 range and putting the Delicato fine wine division in charge Santa Rita luxury labels like Casa Real Cabernet Sauvignon and others But that may not be true across the board Dennis Kreps co owner of Quintessential Wines sees some pricing pressure in the current environment Wines that are easily accessible that consumers are comfortable with and that have aggressive pricing are doing fine Kreps says adding that higher end wines that performed well in the on premise arent necessarily thriving in traditional retail But consumers who really enjoy ing and international business for Fetzer Vineyards which handles Concha y Toro the No 1 Chilean brand in the U S says the super premium ultra premium and luxury segments were growing before the Covid 19 pandemic and have continued to do so 86 MARKET WATCH MARKETWATCHMAG COM SUMMER 2020 BOTTLED CHILEAN TABLE WINE EXPORTS TO THE U S 2009 2019 millions of 9 liter case shipments Calendar Years Source IMPACT DATABANK 2020 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 Despite declining in 2019 Concha y Toro winery pictured is by far the top Chilean wine brand in the U S depleting more than 2 million cases last year The brand was seeing growth at the above premium level before the Covid 19 pandemic and says it has kept up momentum PHOTO BY SARA MATTHEWS
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