During the 52 weeks ending Nov. 10, 2012, the sparkling wine category increased 4.6 percent in dollar sales, said Danny Brager, vice president of beverage and alcohol for Chicago-based market research firm Nielsen, in a Dec. 31 blog post. However, the segment historically performs the best during the last eight weeks of the year, which account for one-third of annual sales, he added.

Throughout the year, sparkling wines that cost between $10 and $25 are most popular, but the holidays inspire consumers to spend more, Brager said in his blog post. At the end of the year, sparkling wines in the $25 to $60 price range more than triple in sales compared with the rest of the year. For 2012, sparkling wines under $10 were up 8 percent compared with 2011, and sparkling wines in the $10 to $25 segment increased 5.3 percent, he said. Combined, these two price segments accounted for 77 percent of sparkling wine sales during the 52 weeks ending Nov. 10, according to Nielsen.

Prosecco wine grew nearly 40 percent during the 52 weeks ending Nov. 10, and its share of sparkling wine sales increased 2 percentage points to 8 percent, Brager reported. The average price for a bottle of prosecco wine is $11.78 compared with an average sparkling wine price of $10.87, he added. Sparkling moscato wine increased more than 100 percent during the measured time period, and it doubled its share of the sparkling wine category to 6 percent. On average, sparkling moscato wines are priced under $10, he said. Rosé sparkling wine grew 3.5 percent in the measured time frame and now accounts for 9 percent of sparkling wine sales. Rosé sparkling wine typically retails for more than $17 a bottle, he added.