Do you remember the first wine you tasted? Was it dry, semi-sweet, or sweet? If it was on the sweeter side, you may match the research results of a new wine consumer study launched by E&J Gallo. The surprising findings indicate that 1 in 3 of all new wine consumers enter the category through a sweet wine offering. Even more startling is that during Covid, sales of sweet wine increased by 40.1%.
The study, conducted using IRI sales data, ran from January 2020 to late March 2021, and included panel data from approximately 40,000 American households. The sweet wine category, according to IRI definition, includes still and sparkling wine made from grape varietals such as Moscato, Riesling, Gewürztraminer and others that are labeled and marketed as sweet. It also includes Sangria and fruit flavored wines. Not included are wines defined as semi-sweet in the product description, traditional dessert wines, and non-alcoholic wine.
Some of the brands that are leading this category include Barefoot (owned by E&J Gallo), as well as Stella Rosa and Roscato. Fruit flavored wine, such as Barefoot Fruitscatos, are dominating even more. According to the study, they grew nearly 63% during Covid.
Potential Drivers of Sweet Wine Growth
In an interview with Anna Bell, E&J Gallo VP of Marketing, regarding the results of the study, she believes there may be three major reasons behind the growth in the sweet wine category:
1) Comfort Food/Wine – “We believe there are many reasons that sweet wine sales increased so much during the pandemic, but one of our hypothesis is that people were seeking comfort. Just like many people who started baking bread and cookies, when it comes to wine, sweeter wines can be more approachable and easy to drink. They are a great beverage to drink while relaxing at home.”
2) Changing Palates – “Another potential reason is that Mexican and Asian foods have become increasingly popular and people are willing to go out of their comfort zones when trying new cuisine. Sweet wine is a very nice pairing with spicy cuisine in particular. One of my personal favorites is Mexican food with Barefoot Moscato wine.”
3) Changing Perspectives – “Most people like candy bars and sweet desserts, so what’s wrong with liking sweet wine? It is refreshing and delicious. Furthermore Gen Z and younger millennials are more adventurous in trying new things. They don’t have the old hang-ups about sweet wine not being cool. They just enjoy what they like, and look to their friends for recommendations about what to drink.”
There is the question of whether or not the growth in the sweet wine category will continue after the pandemic has ended, but Bell believes that it will due to changing demographics. “E&J Gallo conducts a lot of consumer research to understand what consumers desire, and we have learned that sweet wine is very appealing to new wine consumers. For example, we discovered from the study that 1 in 4 Barefoot Fruitscato consumers are new to wine.”
The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in Wine
The Barefoot Fruitscato brand is also appealing to diverse consumer groups, in that it is one of the first U.S. produced wine brands with a label in both English and Spanish. Though designing wine labels in multiple languages is a practice used by some producers in other countries, it is rather rare in the U.S.
“Inclusiveness is a huge part of E&J Gallo and Barefoot,” reports Bell. “The Barefoot brand is about welcoming everyone. Our goal is to bring new consumers into wine, but wine can be intimidating because people feel that they don’t know enough about it. We are trying to democratize wine, so it is accessible and fun for new consumers.”
Indeed some of the inclusiveness efforts around the Barefoot brand are an advertising investment in Telemundo to engage with the LatinX community and launching WeStanForHer in a partnership with New Voices Foundation to support women of color entrepreneurs. They have been a long-time supporter of the LGBTQ+ community by supporting Pride events and the SF Gay Men’s Choir.
Is Sweet Wine Back in Style Again?
Interestingly, sweet wine has long held an important place in wine history. Some of the first Champagnes served to royalty at the Court of King Louis XVI in France and to the Tsars of Russia were very sweet, but overtime drier styles became more popular. During the 1920’s at the famous Restaurant 21 Club in New York, the most popular and expensive wines on the menu were sweet Rieslings from Germany, but today dry Cabernet Sauvignons and Pinot Noirs primarily hold that privilege in top U.S. restaurants.
It appears that sweet wine comes and goes in fashion. However, it could be that the trend is returning – or that it never left, according to some winery owners. “I always make sure we have a sweet white and sweet red wine to offer customers who visit our tasting room,” said a winery owner on the East Coast. “Yes, we also sell a lot of dry wine, but there are always consumers who prefer the sweet. I don’t understand why every winery doesn’t offer a variety of styles to match different consumer palates.”
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