In this article, we are going to discuss the 15 most popular sparkling wine brands in America. You can skip our detailed analysis of the American sparkling wine market, the premiumization in sparkling wine, the most popular Champagne brand in America, and sparkling wine in the air, and go directly to 5 Most Popular Sparkling Wine Brands in America.
As the 19th century dawned, Cincinnati lawyer and temperance movement supporter Nicholas Longworth was looking for a lighter alternative to whiskey, which at the time, was the popular alternative to water. He began making wines from the Catawba grape – a hybrid grape created by crossing American Labrusca grapes with the European Vitis vinifera vines traditionally used to make Old World wines. Now it is hard to imagine sparkling Catawba, but this sweet, zingy wine was actually America’s first sparkler and, for many years, one of the country’s best wines and the flagship wine of Ohio, which became the biggest wine-producing state in the country by 1859. However, 1860 turned out to be a grim year and the state’s wine industry collapsed due to disease and sparkling Catawba eventually faded with time, but Longworth is remembered as an important figure in the history of American wine and sparkling wine in particular.
American Sparkling Wine Market:
Americans have long had a strong love affair with sparkling wines. The U.S. is the world’s largest market for sparkling wine by value, and the third-largest by volume. 2021 turned out to be a great year with the American sparkling wine industry witnessing double digit growth, mainly due to the pent-up demand to celebrate weddings, holiday gatherings, and other personal milestones after the restrictions of the pandemic. According to a recent report by IWSR, sparkling wine was the only wine segment in the U.S. to achieve large volume growth between 2016 and 2021.
Between 2021 to 2026, the American sparkling wine market is projected to grow by more than 15% in volume, while in value terms, the U.S. is expected to account for nearly 15% of the entire global sparkling wine sales by 2026. The major factor contributing to this long-term growth is that the pool of sparkling wine drinkers has jumped sharply since 2019 – 30% to be precise.
Premiumization in Sparkling Wine:
Although sparkling wines are rapidly widening their appeal in the United States and attracting more and more consumers, this has not compromised the trend towards premiumization. Consumers are now spending significantly more per bottle for most sparkling wine types compared to previous years, and almost all brands have witnessed volume growth over the last decade. An important tailwind for the prospects of the American sparkling wine market is that all its offerings are being viewed as better value for money than in previous years.
Most Popular Champagne Brand in America:
With over 33.7 million bottles of bubbly imported from France last year, the United States ranks among the Countries that Drink the Most Champagne.
Champagne’s brand leaders in the U.S. posted sterling performances across the board in 2021, with the top 20 labels combining for 25% growth to 1.8 million cases. Veuve Clicquot is the Best-Selling Champagne Brand in U.S.A., with 645,000 9-liter cases sold in the U.S. in 2021. Owned by Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (OTC:LVMUY), Veuve Clicquot has been around for more than two centuries, and its history and quality have made it one of the most sought after Champagnes in the world.
Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (OTC:LVMUY), through its various houses, is the largest producer of Champagne in the world. The consolidé MHCS boasted an annual revenue of over $2.2 billion in 2022. Commonly referred to as LVMH or Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (OTC:LVMUY) is a French luxury conglomerate formed after the $4 billion merger of the renowned fashion house Louis Vuitton and wines and spirits company Moët Hennessy in 1987.
Sparkling Wine in the Air:
On most long-haul flights, business class passengers expect to be served a frosty glass of Champagne. Many airlines go the extra mile to make sure their customers are pampered and serve impressive brands like Dom Pérignon and Laurent Perrier.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought the airline industry to its knees, forcing a multitude of carriers to adopt various cost-cutting measures in order to survive. The pandemic has come and gone, but the cost-cutting mindset seems to have remained. The American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) has recently announced that it is no longer serving Champagne in Flagship Business – the carrier’s long haul business class product – as part of efforts by the group’s CEO Robert Isom to cut costs. Instead, the company’s new standard option is a cheaper Ferrari Brut Trento DOC, an Italian sparkling wine.
Most passengers of the American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) may not mind the switch, but the company is part of the Oneworld Alliance, with many of its partner airlines making food service a key focus of their flight experience. The difference in luxuries that passengers experience when boarding one of these airlines as part of a connecting flight can potentially irk them.
However, the stringent cost-cutting measures seem to bearing fruit for the company, and although the American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) has suffered from over-expenditure and losses as a result of it in the past, the carrier witnessed a net profit of $127 million last year, with a revenue of $48.97 billion. In fact, the American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL) ranks among the 11 Best Airline Stocks to Invest in Right Now.
With that said, here are the Most Popular Sparkling Wines in the U.S.
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Methodology:
To collect data for this article, we have referred to the Wine Handbook 2022 by the Beverage Information Group, looking for the Best-Selling Sparkling Wine Brands in America. The following wines have been ranked by their number of 9-liter cases sold in the U.S. in 2021.
If you’re still at the dawn of your journey into the alluring world of vino, here are the Best Red Wines for Beginners and Casual Drinking.
15. Domaine Chandon
9-Liter Cases Sold in 2021: 0.52 million
Domaine Chandon is one of Napa Valley’s most iconic and well-visited wineries, and one of only four wineries in the valley that focus on sparkling wine production. The brand’s signature style is brought to life through its award-winning sparkling wines which epitomize the brightness and vibrancy of California’s terroir.
14. Martini and Rossi Asti
9-Liter Cases Sold in 2021: 0.54 million
Owned by Bacardi, Martini & Rossi Asti is a fruity sparkling wine made from the finest Moscato Bianco grapes grown in the heart of the prestigious Italian D.O.C.G. area. The cool, fresh sensation of a glass of Martini & Rossi Asti, with its fragrance and low alcohol content, always allows the freedom of another toast.
13. Cristalino Cava
9-Liter Cases Sold in 2021: 0.56 million
Jaume Serra Cristalino Cava is a sparkling wine from Spain that is made in the traditional method, in which the secondary fermentation producing a sparkling wine’s bubbles occurs in the bottle. It is a blend of Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada grapes, grown in the Penedes region of Spain.
12. Freixenet
9-Liter Cases Sold in 2021: 0.58 million
Freixenet from Penedes, Spain, remains a must-buy wine in the U.S. for its balance in quality, price, and accessibility. Headquartered in Wiesbaden since 1909, Henkell Freixenet is the world’s leading producer of sparkling wine, and offers Sekt, Cava, Prosecco, Champagne, and Crémant from one source, in addition to a diverse range of wines and spirits.
With total sales revenue of $1.584 billion in 2022, Henkell Freixenet ranks among the Largest Alcohol Companies in the World in 2023.
11. Moët & Chandon
9-Liter Cases Sold in 2021: 0.59 million
Since 1743, Moët & Chandon has been passing down unequaled winemaking savoir-faire and an innovative and pioneering spirit from generation to generation. Commonly referred to as Moet, it was the first winery in Champagne to produce only sparkling wine. At $6,502, the Moet & Chandon Esprit du Siècle Brut is among the most expensive Champagnes in the world.
With an annual production volume of 30 million bottles, Moët & Chandon sits among the Best-Selling Champagne Brands in the World.
10. Veuve Clicquot
9-Liter Cases Sold in 2021: 0.64 million
Recognized as a famous high-end Champagne, the main draw of Veuve Clicquot is its rich, toasty flavor, which the brand has cultivated over its 250-year history of creating luxury Champagnes in France. The brand is often associated with luxury and prestige, which is why its bottles can be quite expensive.
Veuve Clicquot is one of the Most Famous Sparkling Wines in America.
9. Cupcake Sparkling
9-Liter Cases Sold in 2021: 0.65 million
With so many different types of wine, Cupcake Vineyards sells some of the best red, white, rosé, and popular sparkling wines for any occasion.
Established in 2008, Cupcake Vineyards is a wine brand based out of California’s Central Coast. It specializes in value-priced wines, marketed for the American palate and sourced from established wine regions around the world.
8. J. Roget
9-Liter Cases Sold in 2021: 0.72 million
This wine is the American version of Champagne and is made from a blend of three grapes – pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot meunier. J. Roget was among the wine brands that Constellation Brands intended to sell to E. & J. Gallo, but after an intervention by the FTC in 2020, it was decided that Constellation would retain the brand for at least four years in order to compete with André, Gallo’s low-priced sparkling wine.
7. Mionetto
9-Liter Cases Sold in 2021: 0.89 million
Founded in 1887 by Francesco Mionetto in the small village of Valdobbiadene, Mionetto is known as one of the Most Popular Proseccos in the World.
In 2019, Mionetto USA made a big move to merge with Cava superpower Freixenet to form Freixenet Mionetto USA. Although they were equally regarded as giants in the wine industry, this union made them one of the largest sparkling wine companies in the United States.
6. Barefoot Bubbly
9-Liter Cases Sold in 2021: 1.17 million
Barefoot Wines is a California winery founded in 1965 by Davis Bynum. The name, Barefoot, as casual and unconventional as it may seem, refers to a free spirit of practice, which includes crushing bare grapes. The brand was purchased by E. & J. Gallo Winery in 2005.
Barefoot ranks among the Best Sparkling Wines in the U.S.
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Disclosure: None. 15 Most Popular Sparkling Wine Brands in America is originally published on Insider Monkey.