The model for building and maintaining a successful wine business used to be simple: make good wine, market it intelligently and watch your sales grow.
That is a slight oversimplification, but not by too much. Between 1960 and 2010 in the U.S. alone—what quickly became the world’s biggest and most powerful wine market—wine consumption rose from 0.90 gallons per person or 53 million total table wine gallons to 2.57 gallons per person, or 707 total table wine gallons, according to the Wine Institute.
That’s an increase of 1,233.96% in total wine consumption over 50 years. But.
Then the growth levelled off. Last year, the U.S. consumed 2.54 gallons per person, for a total of 717 million overall, down from 2.65 gallons and 764 gallons respectively in 2023.
Sales became a lot less predictable. Sometimes a grape or wine style would become a Zeitgeist darling, and producers in that sector would reap the benefits. (But how long will the party last? It’s often boom one year, bust the next).
Producers look to new markets
In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that it’s essential for vintners to not just tweak marketing tactics to appeal more to certain demographics in established markets like Europe and the U.S. (especially amid tariff challenges), but to seek out new markets in Africa, India, and also, certain pockets of Latin America.
Broadly speaking, there’s a “strong demand for expressive, fruit-forward styles,” says Kamara Snow, vice president and general manager of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Travel Retail Sales and Export Division. “We’re seeing robust growth in wine exports across Central and South America and Mexico, driven by evolving consumer preferences, expanding middle class demographics and a rising appetite for premium and boutique wine experiences.”
Spanish producers find cultural alignment
Amid a downward consumption trend worldwide that has “intensified recently,” Enrique Murillo, international managing director at González Byass, based in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, says that Latin America has become a growth opportunity, especially for them and other Spanish producers “due to the similarities in culture and language. Many Spanish wineries are looking for opportunities in Latin America due to declines in traditional markets.”
González Byass has had a presence in Latin America since the 1970s, and Murillo reports “significant growth in sales in Chile, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador in the past five years.”
There is a clear evolution, but there is a lot of work to do.
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