Nearly three-quarters of all sparkling wine lovers drink Italian Prosecco, according to the latest research from Wine Intelligence in their September 2021 report Sparkling Wine in the UK Market. But within this segment of wine lovers it's women aged between 35-55 who are drinking Prosecco in even greater numbers - a whopping 82% drink a bottle of Prosecco several times over the year and spend about £14 each time.
That's over double the amount spent on a bottle of still supermarket red, white or rosé. The average spend per bottle in the UK has been rising slowly over the years and in 2020 it peaked at just over £6 but people aged under 54 (Gen X, Millenials, Gen Z) tend to spend more particularly if buying wine online.
Most people expect to be drinking more of all types of sparkling wine over the next few months, except for Spanish Cava, which is having a hard time convincing anyone that is no longer just a cheap and cheerful option (despite an announcement of a new UK-wide marketing push).
The September report also confirms what many suspected - more Prosecco is being drunk than Champagne in the UK. But with 'Peak Prosecco' now come and gone (in 2017 UK consumed 217million bottles, now it's down to 121 million bottles) Prosecco producers are hoping the new rosé style introduced for Christmas 2020 will help to sell another 20-30 million bottles in the UK each year.
With the UK still be the top destination for bottles of Prosecco, with 30% of all sales, (USA is next at 23% of sales, then Germany 11%, and France 5%) the Italian fizz makers needn't be too concerned particularly when pop stars and TV stars are lining up to launch their own ranges - Kylie Minogue added a rosé Prosecco to her wine range in April 2021, while ITV's TOWIE (The Only Way Is Essex) star Amy Childs is waiting until December 2021 to launch her Amy x Liquid Diamond Prosecco.
Online tastings coming up
December 2021
How to taste Prosecco and make Prosecco cocktails
With Paula of WineUncorked
9th December 2021, 7pm GMT, £14 per household
Learn how to find the aromas and flavours in the famous Italian sparkling wine Prosecco by using the professional wine tasting technique - we'll all have a go at tasting and describing our wines. Also discover how Prosecco is made and why it's not Champagne, plus where does rosé Prosecco fit in? We’ll also make some tasty Prosecco cocktails with strange names. Which cocktail will win?
WineUncorked Prosecco reviews
£8.50 Co-op
Light and slightly sweet with apple flavours.
Colsaliz Barbameto Prosecco 2019
£13.95 Champagne and Chateaux
A pleasantly fruity fizz with flavours of apple and almond pie with a lift of floral notes. A good choice for sharing and celebrating.
£12.99 Virgin Wines
This pale green lightly fizzy spumante Prosecco is floral and nutty with a honey on toast and crisp apple flavours. A nice Prosecco.
£9 Morrisons, Tesco
Another addition to the singer-actress branded wine range – the rosé Prosecco being added in April 2021. The bottle itself is a mastery of design with heart indents repeated all over. The wine inside has a good level of fizz with light lemon sherbet and apple flavours.
Aldi Organic Prosecco Rosé Extra Dry 2020
£7.99 Aldi
A pretty orangey-pink colour, this sparkling Italian Prosecco is a rosé version with sweet strawberry and lemon aromas followed with apple and grapefruit flavours. Lightly fizzy.
