Rosstat: the production of “wine drinks” is growing

The production of “wine drinks”, declining since 2019, began to grow. According to Rosstat, in the first four months of 2023, the production of drinks containing wine or fruit wine materials increased by 6.5% year-on-year and exceeded 1 million decalitres. The dynamics may be associated with an increase in the supply of wine materials, a shift in demand for inexpensive products and active promotions in the category.

According to the results of January-April 2023, the production of “wine drinks” in Russia increased by 6.5% compared to the same period in 2022 and exceeded 1 million decaliters, follows from the Rosstat data available to Kommersant. Since 2019, the output of such products has been declining. In 2021, the production of “wine drinks” decreased by 41.9%, to 6.26 million decaliters, and in 2022 – by 29.9%, to 4.38 million decaliters.

The statistics include grape-containing drinks, which must contain at least 50% wine or grape must, as well as products based on fruit wine materials. The first place in the category with 214 thousand decalitres in January-April 2023 was occupied by Soyuz-vino, whose portfolio includes Lavetti grape-containing drinks. Another 203,000 decalitres were produced by the owner of the Santo Stefano brand, the Eurasian Alcohol Group, and 132,000 decalitres were produced by the Abrau-Durso Group of Companies, which has Abrau Light drinks. The last two brands on the online storefronts of retail chains are related to fruit drinks. The largest increase – by 110% year-on-year – was shown by the Eurasian Alcohol Group. The companies did not provide comments.

Lenta reported that sales of wine carbonated drinks are growing, including due to increased demand for the Santo Stefano brand. In the first four months of 2023, sales of the subcategory in units increased by more than a third, which is associated with a shift in consumer demand to cheaper segments and brand activities in terms of promo, the network notes. On the online showcase of “Winlab” Santo Stefano, taking into account the discount, costs 229 rubles. for a bottle of 0.75 liters. X5 Group (Pyaterochka, Perekrestok networks), Magnit and Krasnoye & Beloe did not provide any comments.

Director of TSIFRRA Vadim Drobiz notes that after the law on viticulture and winemaking came into force in 2020, which tightened the rules for the use of foreign wine material, the production of “wine drinks” decreased from 28 million decaliters per year to current figures. According to him, now the category is represented primarily by carbonated drinks, which are perceived by the consumer as a “holiday product”, despite the fact that such drinks are inexpensive. But the expert doubts the stability of the dynamics.

Alexander Stavtsev, head of the WineRetail information center, says that the production of grape-containing drinks this year can be supported by an increase in the supply of wine materials due to a good grape harvest in Russia in 2022, while there was a shortage of raw materials a year earlier. As reported in the Ministry of Agriculture, in 2022, winegrowers and winemakers increased their grape harvest by 18%, to 890,000 tons. Director of the World Wine Tourism Organization (GWTO) for Russia Leonid Popovich notes that an excess of wine material may affect the category of wine drinks, but not earlier than in one or two months.

Alexander Stavtsev connects the expansion of the production of fruit alcoholic beverages with an increase in demand for inexpensive low-alcohol carbonated products. “Consumers, as a rule, pay little attention to the counter-label, and perceive the drink as sparkling wine, based on the shape of the bottle. And manufacturers can have good profitability, given that well-known brands cannot be attributed to the low price segment,” the expert says.

Wine production, according to Rosstat, in January-April 2023 decreased by 3%, to 8.9 million deciliters year-on-year. As Kommersant’s interlocutors noted, a huge stock is pressing on the market, which is why chains are cautious about new orders, and some winemakers have difficulties with sales. WineRetail estimates the stock of Russian and imported wine at 16 million decalitres, which is twice the level of last year.

Anatoly Kostyrev