More summer wines amid drinking at home boom

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:00 JST, June 21, 2021

Suntory Wine International Ltd. will release a sour lemon sparkling wine on Tuesday, part of its expanded lineup of summer wines amid an uptick in at-home drinking as people have been refraining from going out.

According to Suntory, sales of over-the-counter wine for home consumption increased by 7% last year from the year before.

While Suntory usually releases two or three types of limited-release wine every summer, this year the company will release five summer flavors in order to target more consumers.

Mercian Corp. will be offering a limited-release lemon-flavored sangria starting on June 29.

Sangria, which is made by putting fresh fruits in wine, is said to be popular with people in their 20s and 30s across the country who are newcomers to wine. Lemon, which is also popular in chuhai shochu highballs, is slated to be used more frequently in the wine market.

Wine consumption nationwide has been increasing steadily since 2012 as low-priced wines from Chile and other countries began garnering more market share.

Suntory’s sales strategist said, “We want to propose ways to drink wine for a variety of occasions.”