New Study Indicates France and Italy Fastest-Growing Regions

According to a new study released by Wine.com, 58% of all wine bottles sold on the Wine.com website during 2006 were imports. Growth in consumption was lead by France and Italy, both up over 30% during 2006.

"Our customers are young, educated and affluent, and they're going for the imports in record numbers and spending over $20 per bottle," said Mike Osborn, Wine.com founder and VP Merchandising. By comparison, the U.S. market consumes less than 25% imports, with an average bottle price under $5.

"Our goal is to provide the selection, information and online tools to help people feel more comfortable buying wine," said Rich Bergsund, Wine.com CEO. "With our database of professional wine critic ratings, wine-maker notes and customer reviews, our customers get the facts they need to make an informed choice. French and Italian imports do extremely well when you can tell their story."

About Wine.com

Wine.com is the nation's #1 online wine retailer, offering thousands of wines, wine gifts, gift baskets and monthly wine clubs. Wine.com's mission is to be the ultimate resource for the wine enthusiast, whether shopping for themselves or sending a gift. To this end, the company has been an innovator in providing online tools and content to make it easy and fun to discover and buy wine. Wine.com is the world's most visited wine web site, according to research conducted by comScore Media Metrix. For more information, visit http://www.wine.com/.

Source: Wine.com