News Release, NAPA, Calif.—What wines are Americans drinking in restaurants? That question has just been answered, in an exclusive article in the trade journal, Restaurant Wine.

Researched and written by Master of Wine and publisher, Ronn Wiegand, the article identifies the top 100 brands of wine sold in restaurants in 2004, ranked according to their estimated sales volume (by 9-liter cases).

The report includes all types of wine, including vermouth, sparkling, table, and dessert wines from the USA, France, Italy, Australia, Chile, Argentina, and Germany. It also covers the entire spectrum of American restaurants licensed to serve wine, from casual to fine dining restaurants.

Wiegand says that the "Top 100" show the range of wines being consumed in restaurants and the startling market penetration of such brands as Beringer, Copperidge, Sutter Home, Inglenook, and Franzia, the top 5 brands noted. Figures for the report were drawn from reliable industry sources, and from hundreds of interviews with restaurateurs, distributors, importers, and wineries throughout the USA.

The major changes in 2004 versus previous reports:

• "animal brands" or "fun brands" increased sales by 36% in 2004, growth largely driven by Yellow Tail, the red-hot Australian brand.
• wine sales volume in USA restaurants rose from approximately 58 to 59 million cases of wine, a 2% gain (versus 2003) in volume, but increased 7.8% in terms of value. 

Other key findings of the report:

• the "Top 100" brands represent approximately 48% of all wine sold in restaurants in the USA (by volume);
• wines from the United States account for 67 of the "Top 100" wine brands sold in restaurants, and 76% of the sales volume of the "Top 100"; and,
• brands owned or marketed by 15 companies account for 73 of the "Top 100" brands and 85% of the total sales volume of the "Top 100" brands sold in USA restaurants.
• by country of origin, the USA held the top spot with 67 brands in the "Top 100" (65 from California, 2 from Washington State), 16 are from Italy, 6 from Australia, 4 from France, 2 each from Chile and Germany, and 1 each from Argentina and Spain.

The "Top 100" list is published only in Restaurant Wine. RESTAURANT WINE is a bimonthly journal on wine for the hospitality and wine industries, and has been published by Wiegand since 1988. Subscriptions are $99/year in the USA. Address: P.O. Box 222, Napa, CA 94559-0222. Single copy issues of the "Top 100" issue (#107) are $22 in the USA, prepaid, or $27 (prepaid in $US) in all other countries.

RESTAURANT WINE

TOP 25 OF "TOP 100 WINE BRANDS" ON-PREMISE 2004

Copyright 2005 by Wiegand and Boblitt, FLP

CONTACT: Restaurant Wine,

Ronn Wiegand, 707/224-4777
                     ronn-w@pacbell.net
                     www.restaurantwine.com