50 Million Case Wine Opportunity?

(Wines&Vines) - While Americans are drinking more wine then ever, the U.S. Hispanic population still consumes far less wine than the general population. Tapping into that market could result in wineries selling an additional 50 million cases over the next 20 years, according to a new report by Rabobank’s food and agribusiness research group.

The report predicts Hispanics may buy 96.5 million cases of wine a year by 2033. The growth in just Hispanic consumption could account for as much as 40% of the total growth in wine consumption over the same period. “If U.S. wineries can develop strategies that positively affect the wine consumption rate of U.S. Hispanics, those strategies will have far reaching, positive benefits in other Hispanic markets,” said the report’s author and Rabobank’s wine industry analyst, Stephen Rannekleiv.

Growing segment of U.S. population

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population is expected to grow to 22% of the total U.S. population by 2033. The white non-Hispanic population is expected to only account for 54% of the U.S. population in 2033 down from 64% in 2011.

Even just offering Spanish language information on a winery website or ensuring someone in the tasting room can speak Spanish would help a brand connect with Hispanic consumers, Rannekleiv notes. “Driving consumption growth among Hispanics will not necessarily be easy, but may be critical for the wine industry’s continued growth in the long term,” Rannekleiv says in the report.

The low rate of Hispanic wine consumption is one of the biggest ironies in the wine industry. Many of the men and women working in the vineyards and cellars producing wine are Mexican immigrants who don’t drink much of it.

Napa and Sonoma counties are home to some wineries like Ceja Vineyards and Robledo Family Winery in the Carneros AVA and Mi Sueno and Alex Sotelo Cellars in Napa Valley that are owned by Mexican immigrants. This week the California state Legislature will honor the 14-winery members of the Mexican-American Vintners Association.