This year’s seasonal shift is putting a new category in the spotlight: Italian wines. In 2023 to date, Italian wine accounts for 7.4% share of the red wine category compared to 6.7% share during the same time period in 2022. Similarly, Italian grape varieties including Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Barbera, and Nebbiolo are among the fastest-growing red wine varieties on the platform this year.

“It appears that consumers are beginning to see red wine as a more versatile, year-round drink rather than as a seasonal beverage, with increasing plans to drink it during the summer months – and that’s spilling over into the fall season as well,” says Liz Paquette, Drizly's director of consumer insights.  She noted that 31% of respondents in Drizly’s annual consumer survey reported red wine as their go-to summer beverage. “We think this trend could be related to the media and social media focus on Europe, especially Italian summer, driving sales for drinks like the Aperol spritz.”

The surge in consumer demand for Italian wines is also expanding in the on-premise market, according to data from NielsenIQ, suggesting that this spike in popularity will keep growing in off-premise channels as well. “The consumer preference for Italian red wine is up six percent compared with last year, the highest growth of any country of origin,” says Ben Tilton, the associate client solutions manager for NielsenIQ. “That’s second only to domestic reds in terms of preference.”

Consumers’ reach toward Italian varieties could represent a significant boost to the bottom line for well-stocked retailers, since these imported wines carry higher average unit prices in 2023, with Italian reds averaging $22.94 per bottle compared to $20.62 for red wines in general. Retailers should consider stocking Italian reds in the $10 to $20 and $20 to $30 range, which account for 65%% of Italian wine category share.

Lagers Continue Dominance

Lager is already trending in 2023, making up 42% of beer share overall compared to the same period in 2022. Lager subcategories – including light lagers, American-style lagers, pilsners, and pale lagers – have all seen significant growth over the same period, indicating consumers are returning to classic drinks at the expense of the subcategories that have garnered much attention in recent years, such as hard seltzers and IPAs.

“The declining share of hard seltzer in the beer category is certainly playing a role in the share gains for lager, particularly light lager, which has regained its position this year as the top-selling beer subcategory on Drizly.” adds Paquette, noting hard seltzer share has declined to 17.5% of beer share in 2023 to date, down from 19.8% in 2022.

Reposado Will Continue its Tequila Rise

In 2023 to date, reposado tequila makes up 30% share of the tequila category compared to 28% in the same time period in 2022. While silver and blanco SKUs still outnumber reposados, this category is now the second-most available style of tequila on the platform.

“In terms of subcategories within tequila, reposado (is a standout) from a growth perspective, with volume gains of 11.5%,” explains Tilton. “Reposado now represents 16.2% of the total tequila category in terms of dollar share.”

In 2023 to date, the most popular reposado offerings on Drizly come from well-established brands with strong distribution, including Clase Azul Reposado Tequila, Casamigos Reposado, Don Julio Reposado, Espolòn Tequila Reposado, Teremana Tequila Reposado, and Don Julio Rosado Tequila Reposado.