The demand for sparkling wine: insights on a diversified European market

Purpose

The article aims to study the demand for sparkling wines in Europe. The main objective is to estimate the classic demand parameters aggregately for the entire European area (European Union and the United Kingdom) and separately for groups of countries characterized by wine markets with similar characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

Using 15-years market data for different wine categories from the Euromonitor Passport database, the estimation of price and income elasticities is performed through a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System. In line with the objectives, the model is applied first to the whole European area and then separately to the considered groups of countries (subareas). To identify homogeneous subareas, a cluster analysis was performed on basic characteristics of the wine market.

Findings

When considering the European market as a whole, sparkling wines should be considered a luxury category with a high own-price elasticity. However, the structure of their demand is rather different in different sub-areas. The observed heterogeneity suggests that differentiated policy and marketing considerations should be made. In addition, it widens the possibilities for producers, who can choose the submarkets that respond best to their needs to export their sparkling wines. This seems particularly important in markets, like the sparkling wine ones, that are experiencing a continuous expansion over the last decades.

Originality/value

Despite using a methodology well-established to study wine and alcohol demand, the study fills a considerable gap in the literature. Although the demand for sparkling wine is growing worldwide, so far only a couple of studies have engaged in the analysis of its structure. In Europe, the largest market for sparkling wine, this kind of studies is completely lacking.