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Survey Of Wine Consumers Says Sustainability Takes Precedence Over Organic

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Hosted by The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA), which boasts wine and grape association partners from New York, Oregon, Washington and from other parts of the United States (U.S.), the First U.S. Sustainable Winegrowing Summit took place in California earlier this month. The meeting began with a tour of the sustainable Benziger Family Winery and St. Francis Winery & Vineyards.

One of the highlights at the summit was a presentation by Lulie Halstead, CEO of the research and consulting firm, Wine Intelligence (WI). Halstead spoke of an April 2019 survey of 2,000 regular U.S. wine consumers, three domestic focus groups and surveys in Canada, Sweden and the United Kingdom (U.K.).

Overall, the survey indicates high consumer interest in sustainably produced wine, and consumers harbor a favorable perception of sustainable certification programs as well. In addition, consumers show “…a willingness to pay more for sustainably produced wine, particularly Millennials and Gen Z.”

It is easy to become confused over the difference between sustainably produced and organic. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Certified Organic is an officially government-sponsored certification. Sustainable production is not sponsored by USDA, which is why CSWA is a grouping of private businesses. Sustainability is an agricultural philosophy to take protective farming measures that reduces damage to the environment. This website helps us understand the subject.

WI says that, “While organic wine is more universally understood, sustainably produced wine has the highest future purchase consideration.” 

A majority of U.S. survey respondents indicated that they would consider buying sustainably produced wine in the future, 74%—about organic wine, 70% in the U.S. said the same. In Canada it’s 70% sustainable, 57% organic; Sweden 60/68%; and the U.K. 63/49%. “Environmentally friendly” and “Fair trade” also scored the highest in the U.S., 74%.

Biodynamic surveyed at 58% in the U.S., 52% Canada, 40% Sweden and 43% U.K.

U.S. consumers strongly associate U.S. States with sustainable production, in particular, California. According to CSWA, 85% of California wine is produced under its Certified California Sustainable Winery program and more than 40% of California’s vineyard acreage is operated under its Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing program. 

As is often the case, Millennials lead the way: 90% of those surveyed are willing to pay more for sustainably produced wine. U.S. wine consumers on average say they are willing to pay as much as $3 more per bottle for a sustainably produced wine.

The survey showed that winery websites and wine tasting events remain effective at communicating wine sustainability, but wine labels and peer recommendation are becoming more desired sources of information. The average consumer seeks “simple visual cues or clearly identified sections in a store.” An “Award Winning” endorsement remains reassuring, but consumers also find sustainability certifications reassuring. According to the survey results, “…both CSWA’s Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing logo and a generic Certified Sustainable logo were viewed as credible and visually appealing…the highest likelihood to buy among U.S. wine consumers.—as opposed to 70% who said the same about organic wine.”

The source of these statistics is WI’s three wine consumer focus groups in Los Angeles in April, 2019 and WI’s Vinitrac survey that same month including 2,000 U.S. wine consumers, 2,479 in Canada, 1,000 in Sweden and 1,000 in the U.K.

Postscript: The Supreme Court decided 7-2 against Tennessee's retail wine and spirit residency laws, which means to open a shop in the state you do not have to live in Tennessee for a prescribed period of time. As far as I can see, no mention seems to have been made in the decision regarding retailer right to ship wine across state lines.










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