The letters STD stand for sexually-transmitted disease. Unsurprisingly, neither they nor the subject often form part of the discussion at most polite social gatherings. RTD, by contrast, refers to Ready-To-Drink, but this, too, rarely gets mentioned when wine professionals get together. And, when it does, it is usually in the context of cans of malt- or spirit-based beverages that have little, if anything, to do with wine.
The conversation is far more likely to involve non-alcoholic ‘wine’, sales of which have been booming while those of conventional wine have been flat or falling.
The latest NielsenIQ on-trade trends report, however, suggests that wine-based RTDs or ‘wine cocktails’ deserve a lot more attention than they have received.
In the US, the authors claim, off-premise sales of (still) table wine amount to $17.6bn. The equivalent figures for wine-based RTDs and ‘Flavoured Beverage Wine’ are $0.9bn and $0.7bn respectively. In other words, these two related categories are worth nearly 10% as much as the stuff everybody generally talks about. Or, viewed from another angle, 60% as much as the $2.7bn US retail market for sparkling wine.
While brands like Barefoot and Sutter Home offer RTD options, the most famous wine-based RTD brand – though rarely described as such – is probably Stella Rosa. These sweet, fruit-flavoured, low-alcohol Italian wines from Riboli Estates that, in 2023, sold around 4m cases, more than Château Ste Michelle, Kendall Jackson or Ménage à Trois. That year, a new line, flavoured with fruit and chilli was the fastest growing entrant to the wine sector.
Less well-known is XXL, another fruit-flavoured import, but with a far punchier 16% ABV, whose sales shot from zero to 3.5m cases since the launch less than two years ago.
Dramatic growth
According to the NielsenIQ report, the wine-based RTD sector enjoyed US retail growth in 2024 of 29.3% - just ahead of the 27.2% figure for NA wine. Conventional wine, by contrast, contracted by 3.5% in value and 5.4% in volume.
In case anyone imagines that wine-based RTDs are a US-focused phenomenon, however, IWSR research shows them being sold in 10 key markets. While vodka is the favourite RTD base in these countries, wine comes second, ahead of whisky, rum, tequila and gin. “China” the IWSR suggests “stands out for a preference for wine-based drinks”, while Germany and Japan “show a lower preference for vodka.” The specific alcohol used as a base, apparently came second for consumers – many of whom are Gen X – behind flavour.
Admittedly, the IWSR researchers say that wine-based and malt-based RTDs (aka ‘hard seltzers’) are lagging behind those based on spirits, despite the latter category, having until recently, often being handicapped by US state legislation. In some parts of the country, gas stations have legally been retailing malt-based White Claw hard while being forbidden to sell cans of gin-and-tonic with the same ABV. Wine-based RTDs can, similarly, be sold wherever wine is on offer, and often at a lower tax rate.
These rules have been changing, since 2023, however, with California and Texas, notably changing their tax regimes in favour of spirits-based RTDs.
Sales of wine-based RTDs may now benefit as the brand owners’ focus shifts to the on-trade, and with more XXL-style launches. As IWSR states: on-premise “could be the next wave of growth and innovation. In 2023, on-trade consumption of RTDs was at or beyond where it was before the pandemic in the US, Canada, Australia and South Africa; and RTD drinkers in Brazil, China and South Africa said they were more likely to drink RTDs in the on-trade."
But is it wine?
Professionals who obsess over whether a wine that has been dealcoholized can still be called ‘wine’ will probably have even more trouble deciding how to talk about one that has been flavoured with mango and chilli, diluted with water and carbonated, or flavoured and fortified to 16%. But while they discuss beverage semantics, others who are more interested in the profitability of their businesses and the threat of a shrinking market for conventional wine, may be more interested in that 29.3% rise in sales. Or the margins on a $15 four-pack of Newtopia Mango Margarita Wine Cocktail.
It may be easy to spot this last group of wine pros: they’ll be the ones who aren’t too embarrassed to talk about their RTDs.
Want to learn more about wine-based RTDs and their market potential? Join us at Meininger’s Wine Conference in Düsseldorf—the day before ProWein! Register HERE
