Sales of prosecco soaring in Czech Republic

Czech consumers are growing increasingly fond of Prosecco, the world-famous sparkling wine produced in Italy. More than 5.5 million bottles of Prosecco were sold in the Czech Republic in 2019, which is an increase by 26 percent on the previous year, according to the newly released data by DOC Consortium Valori Italia.

Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine made from Glera grapes, is characterised by the territory where it is made; only wine growers from the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions of northern Italy may produce it.

The popularity of the bubbly has been growing all over the world in recent years, with sales outside of Italy exceeding 410 million bottles annually.

The largest markets are the United Kingdom, United States and Germany, followed by France, Switzerland and Belgium. The Czech Republic currently occupies 13th spot in the ranking.

Thanks to its popularity, Prosecco has also made its mark on the calendar: International Prosecco Day falls on 13 August.

Consumption of Prosecco in the Czech Republic has been steadily increasing since 2016, when 2.5 million bottles were sold. During the next three years, sales have more than doubled.

The number one brand on the Czech market is Mionetto, distributed on the Czech market by Bohemia Sekt.

“The sales of both Prosecco Frizante (semi-sparkling) and Spumante (sparkling) have been growing but Czech consumers clearly prefer the Frizzante,” says Marek Žižkovský, the Mionetto brand manager for the Czech Republic.

Sales of other types of sparkling wines have also been growing. According to a recent study carried out by market analyst Nielsen, large shops with a floor area over 400 square metres sold 11.6 million bottles of sparkling wines between February and June 2020. That is nearly 10 percent more than in the same period last year. The sales of Prosecco in the same period grew by 19.5 percent.