How to Sell 600 Million Bottles of Wine in 20 Years

How would you like to see the amount of wine sold in the United States increase by 600 million bottles over the next 20 years? It could happen if one market gets more attention: Hispanics. A new wine book highlighted in Wine Business, Vino, Vida y Alegría, could ofer a step in that direction. Based on wine classes taught at at Florida International University and Miami-Dade College by author Athena Yannitsas, it's a Spanish-language wine guide with a mission. As Yannitsas explains, “It is time for savvy wine producers, importers, distributors and retailers to reach out and welcome the Hispanic consumer, a population that is currently underserved in the U.S. wine market.”

And how big is that population? In terms of wine sales, an August 2013 report by Rabobank estimates that if the Hispanic population's rate of wine consumption were to mirror than of the greater population of the United Sates, it could translate into an additional 50 million cases of wine sales over the next two decades.