U.S. Wine Industry Partnership BMO WINE & SPIRITS GROUPBW166 AND GOMBERG, FREDRIKSON & ASSOCIATES 2023 was a challenging year forthe U.S. wine industry, but morethan half of all U.S. wineries metor exceeded their sales goals. Table of contents Adam BeakManaging Director and Head, Wine and SpiritsJon MoramarcoManaging Partner of beverage alcoholadvisory, bw166 Introduction2Sources for this report5Headwinds persist butso do opportunities6 anti-alcohol trends, and the climate are just a few factors affecting the U.S. wine industry,including its value chains — from grapes to glass. During our decades of experience supporting the wine industry through change, we’vefound no shortage of trend spotters with a view on the fate of the wine business. Often These perspectives can be interesting but not always helpful for wine’s most dedicatedworkers and decision makers – our clients, in other words. They deserve an authoritativesource of information about the state of the entire U.S. wine industry. That’s exactly whywe formed theU.S. Wine Industry Partnership: Produce a seminal report based on Leading a wine company right now isn’t easy, but there are opportunities ripe for picking.We believe providing our clients with the most relevant information and analysis combined On behalf of theU.S. Wine Industry Partnership, we’re proud to present the inaugural2024 BMO Wine Market Report. With it, you can decide for yourself whether the glass is and bounds, the United States also became the number one export market for the world’s top wine regions. Wine isnow enjoyed by more American drinkers than at any other time in history, and the quality and diversity of winemakinghave also never been previously matched. Prior to the pandemic the industry saw a flattening in total sales growthfollowed by a significant run-up in sales and now a retraction. The U.S. wine industry offers myriad opportunitiesfor proactive companies leveraging data to retain or increase their share of the market. The intention of this report Organized into three sections, the report will first examine the total market and how recent trends haveaffected the wine business in 2023 and what that portends through 2025. The report will then reviewdecades of data on U.S. wine consumers ranging from infrequent imbibers to its most ardent fans.Lastly, the report features findings from a comprehensive winery survey that captured insights fromthose guiding the largest and smallest wine companies across the country producing wines at all prices.The most relevant findings are shared in this report, but the survey examined several other areas of the Rather than focus on the wine business in a particular region or the performance of only luxury estates,this report is intended to provide a complete look at all aspects of the industry. The total beveragealcohol market, like the rest of the U.S. economy, has gone through a transformative period in the pastfour years. These changes have brought new challenges for wine, but understanding what is driving Most U.S. wineries remainoptimistic about the futureand expect to see sustainedsales growth over the next That new state of business offers opportunities for wineries willing to commit the resources to becompetitive at higher prices and lower volumes in direct sales and on-premise. Despite the uncertaintyregarding the lower end of the market — specifically wines priced less than $10 per 750ml — anabundance of affordable bulk wine and uncontracted vineyards offers opportunities for new brands andproduct innovation. If the value side of retail can’t be revitalized with innovation, then the removal of Key findings Retail sales of higher priced wines,generally more than $10 per 750ml bottle, have remainedstableand are likely to grow through the end of 2024 and into next year. A significant portion of the total market volume declines were driven by retailers, wholesalersand even consumers reducing excess inventory. As inventories normalized this year,the marketis expected to revert to levels seen prior to the pandemic. The volume of traditional spiritsdropped by 8% in the past year, revealing that declinesin 2023 were not unique to wineand indicative of disruptions across the total beverage Wine drinkers account for35% of the entire U.S. legal drinking age population, and while thatshare is less than before the pandemic, it corresponds to the average since 2005. While the BabyBoomer generation still accounts for a significant portion of those drinkers, the Gen X, Millennial, Nearly30% of wine consumers say they purchase a wine priced more than $20 monthlyifnot more often. Wine drinkers are, on average, more affluent and better educated than non-wine Direct sales through the winery tasting rooms or wine clubsalready account for a significantsource of revenue for smaller wineries, which are also planning — and expect —to increasethat Sources for this report Based in Napa, Calif., theBMO Wine & Spirits Groupis one