Rioja Excels in New Wine Buying Trends Survey

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- A new wine trends survey by Communitas Online New York reveals that wines from Rioja score high in consumer and trade awareness when it comes to wine purchase decisions. According to trade members, Rioja offers the best value at any given price point, outranking the rest of Spain and other prestigious wine territories, such as Italy, Cotes du Rhone, Argentina, Burgundy and Bordeaux. Consumers rank Rioja as the best region for high-quality wines that pair well with food, one of the top three factors influencing their purchase decision. The survey was commissioned by the Vibrant Rioja marketing campaign and sent to nearly 12,000 consumers and 1,500 trade members, who joined Rioja's opt-in wine community database in 2010. In total, the Vibrant Rioja wine community encompasses 70,000 consumers and 3,000 trade members.

According to the surveyed members of the trade, Rioja offers a better value proposition than Argentina and the rest of Spain in the $10 to $20 price range. Rioja also trumps Bordeaux and Burgundy at the $20 to $50 price point and it outperforms Bordeaux, Barolo and Burgundy in terms of value at the $50+ price level. The Wine Opinions 2010 Imported Wine Study, a third-party online survey conducted in the summer of 2010, reported similar findings. According to this study, Spain was top-ranked by trade as producing quality red wines under $20 and in the $20 to $50 price range.

In addition to the value offering, the grape varietal has become more important for consumers when buying wine. Over 60 percent of Communitas Online survey participants consider the varietal the most important deciding factor for purchasing wine, compared to 25 percent in 2009. The second most important factor is the country of origin, which is four times more relevant to consumers this year (49.5 percent) than last year (12 percent). Food-friendliness follows as the next most important factor, mattering to nearly 40 percent of surveyed wine drinkers (no comparative data from last year).

For the first time ever, Rioja also leads the list of regions in the production of high-quality wines that pair well with food (56.7 percent), followed by Napa (49.1 percent) and Tuscany (40.4 percent). Tempranillo, the king grape of Rioja, was voted the third-best grape varietal, behind Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, to pair with any food, moving up from the fifth rank last year. Overall, Rioja is the top international region and varietal consumers feel comfortable recommending to family and friends, leaving the rest of Spain, Cabernet, and Malbec behind.

"We feel proud that both the trade and consumers are increasingly looking to Rioja as their wine of choice," said Pablo Olay, Vibrant Rioja Campaign Director. Olay continued, "We strongly believe Rioja wines have the best quality to price ratio in the world, and are exceptional food wines."

Methodology of Communitas Online New York Survey

Communitas Online New York has been providing research on customers, employees and consumer-related exchanges since 2001. The Vibrant Rioja marketing campaign commissioned Communitas Online New York to conduct an internet-based survey among members of the trade and consumers who signed up for Vibrant Rioja's online wine community database in 2010. The survey included open- and closed-ended questions and was distributed via email to new Rioja wine community members.  The recipients included 11,745 consumers, of which 1,204 responded between May and October 2010, and 1,500 trade, of which 426 responded in September and October 2010. The sample size provides for a 95 percent (plus/minus 2.6 percent) confidence level in the results.

Methodology of Wine Opinions Survey

Wine Opinions is an Internet-based research company focusing on the attitudes, behaviors, and taste preferences of the segment of U.S. wine drinkers who are the most frequent purchasers and consumers of wine. Wine Opinions maintains the largest online panel of highly involved wine consumers ever assembled. In addition, Wine Opinions maintains a U.S. wine trade panel that includes wine producers, growers, importers, distributors, those who work on-premise and off-premise, members of the wine media, and others. In 2008, the first Wine Opinions Imported Wine Study was conducted to establish benchmark data on consumer and trade attitudes, sales, purchase behavior and preferences for wines from top wine producing countries. The 2010 report was conducted in July and details the results of the second wave of this study and emerging market trends.

All Wine Opinions panelists were sent an email invitation to participate, with a link to the online survey embedded in the invitation. A total of 642 Wine Opinions consumer panel members participated in the survey, which leads to a confidence level of 90 percent (plus/minus 3 percent) in the results. 261 members of the Wine Opinions trade panel participated in the study, resulting in a confidence level of 90 percent (plus/minus 5 percent) in the results.

About Rioja

Located in north central Spain, Rioja is considered one of the greatest red wine regions of the world. Rioja reds are blended predominantly with the indigenous tempranillo grape from one of the region's three subzones— Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja, and Rioja Alavesa. The DOCa of Rioja administers highly sophisticated and stringent quality control in the winemaking process, from viniculture to bottling. More than 200 brands from Rioja are available for purchase in the U.S. For more information, please visit www.vibrantrioja.com.

SOURCE Vibrant Rioja