Wine consumption in Spain

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Wine consumption in Spain

• Rafael del Rey
• General Manager

XVIII Giornata Internazionale Vitivinicola -
Siena, 28 maggio 2005
2

• How much is consumed?
• How has consumption evolved?
• What type of wines are consumed and where?
• At what prices?
• By whom?

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Unfortunately, nobody really knows how much wine
is actually consumed in Spain
... Although it should be around 12/13 million
hectoliters
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Therefore, differences arise on how has
consumption evolved
1988 to 2004
-24,8 -4,6 Mill.
-25,9 -4,2 Mill.
although most indicators show clear decrease.
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Something similar (different sources) happens in
terms of value
2000 to 2004 334 Mill. (3,2 p.a.)
1995 to 2003 956 Mill. (8,2 p.a.)
1996 to 2004 518 Mill. (6,1 p.a.)
although most reliable figures show increase.
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In terms of per capita wine consumption
The same decrease in wine (-39 since 1987) takes
place...
which is not caused by the increase of other
alcoholic beverages, but is due to growth of
non-alcoholic.
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By place of consumption
By type of wine
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By type of wine and place of consumption
3070
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By average price (according to Nielsen)
62 of total wine is sold below 1,50 /bot-Ltr,
which only represent 32 of total value of
domestic wine consumption
Price per unit off-trade (year
2004) 8,13/bot 4,82/bot 3,33/bot 2,46/bot
1,49/bot 0,73/litro
IN VOLUMEN
IN VALUE
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By region of consumption (home consumption)

• Spain is divided into northern consumers with 10
  Lit/head and over, and central, southern and
  eastern consumers below the average, with
• The Balearic Islands in the leading group and
• Aragon in the North though well below the average

Note Large increase in population in recent years
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Wine consumption at home by region
Is it more difficult to drink wine in warmer
areas?
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More detail on consumers at home (1)
By color (home still wine) two thirds are red
wine, 23 white and 13 rosé
By size of the city (home consumption) more wine
is consumed in small towns than in larger cities
By socio-economic status (home consumption)
slightly more wine is consumed in houses with a
medium and high status and larger decrease takes
place in medium-low and low income families.
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More detail on consumers at home (2)
By age of the house lady (home consumption) wine
consumption is clearly associated to elder age
!!!!
Does wine in our countries have a problem of
acceptance among young people?
By activity of the house lady (home consumption)
much more wine is consumed in traditional houses,
where, however, decrease has being much larger.
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More detail on consumers at home (3)
By size of the family (home consumption) the
larger the family, the lesser wine is consumed,
and only in houses with one person (old /
young??) consumption has grown
More children probably means younger
By age of the children (home consumption) more
wine is consumed in houses with no children and
those with elder children, as compared to houses
with young sons and daughters
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Conclusions

• Clear decrease of wine consumption in Spain (as
  in the other traditional wine producing
  countries)
• Mainly in table (popular) wine consumed at home,
  while AO wine is growing, particularly on-trade
  (also AO regions grow)
• Probably due to changes in patterns of
  consumption
• Less basic products in exchanged for few higher
  quality
• Less traditional lunch (big, quite, followed by a
  siesta), though good dinners outside
• More quick meals
• Problems with traffic (How much can be consumed?)
• Affected (distribution, presentation,
  advertisement) by the consideration of wine as a
  dangerous alcoholic drink (legally associated
  with drugs) ? need to separate wine from other
  drinks ? Wine Act 24/2004
• Not very attractive for younger generations (a
  parents drink) consumption directly link to
  age ? urgent need to make it an attractive
  beverage (presentation, degree of alcohol,
  innovation, etc), also as way to learn/enter
  moderation
• Not due to prices, although too expensive in
  restaurants ? innovation in distribution (direct
  sales? Enoturism?) ? growth of firms (balance of
  powers between wineries versus distributors)

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Conclusions (2)

• We are loosing a generation of consumers while
  wine is less attractive to young people (as
  opposed to young generations in Anglo-Saxon
  markets) ? need to innovate, marketing,
  presentations
• The great importance of on-trade consumption
• makes it comfortable for small bodegas to exist
  and limits possible entrance of foreign
  competitors, but,
• on the other hand, limits growth of domestic
  firms, increases power of distributors (and
  regional administrations and unions) on the
  medium term and makes needed export less
  attractive.
• Off-trade distribution is concentrating
  everywhere and may contribute to increase
  consumption at home (following trends in northern
  countries).
• The need to supply larger amounts of quality wine
  in stable terms at competitive prices, both
  domestically and abroad, generates doubts on the
  EU policy regarding quality wine associated to
  specific producing regions ? increasing need of
  flexible laws on presentation and AO

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At the end,

• two questions arise
• Is it reasonable to expect a large increase in
  domestic demand to absorb our larger production?
• If not, export will be required, but then
• Can we face export markets with the same criteria
  and mentality than we do our domestic markets?

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Thank you

• Rafael del Rey

XVIII Giornata Internazionale Vitivinicola -
Siena, 28 maggio 2005