Americans Toast Easter with Wine

In a recent poll conducted for the Gallo of Sonoma Winery, 80 percent of Americans celebrate Easter. Whether red or white, sweet or dry, Americans enjoy drinking wine with special meals. Reportedly, the majority of Americans (59 percent) serve at least one bottle of wine during traditional holiday meals, with 15 percent placing one bottle of red wine and one bottle of white wine on the table, to give their guests a choice. When asked which kind of wine they consider most appropriate to serve with an Easter meal, respondents were equally divided between red and white wine. More than a quarter (26 percent) of respondents consider their favorite wine to be whichever best complements the dinner, with a majority of Americans (74 percent) considering ham the most traditional main dish at Easter dinner.

Twenty percent of Americans prefer wine with Easter dinner. Wine tied with soda in the national survey, and was second only to tea (26 percent). Geography is a large factor in beverage selection however, with wine being the number one selection (22 percent) in the West, where soda (17 percent) and even milk (19 percent) are more favored than tea (15 percent). Wine is also the favorite in the Northeast (25 percent), where the second choice is soda (22 percent). Forty-four percent of those polled in the South prefer tea.

The Gallo of Sonoma Winery report presents the findings of a telephone survey conducted among a national probability sample of 1,019 adults comprising 509 men and 510 women, 21 years of age or older, living in private households in the continental United States. Opinion Research Corporation International of Princeton, N.J., conducted the interviewing during February 21-24.

Moderator Comment: What wine related opportunities are there for building incremental business (in and out of the category) during this time of year?

Many non-Kosher consumers are turning to Kosher foods because of health and quality perceptions. Turns out that Kosher wines are not just the sweet cough drop like elixirs that many of us remember from years past.

For suggestions on Kosher alternatives for the holiday season, check out WSJ Online's Tastings column by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, Big World of Kosher Wines Starts With Bold Bubblies. [George Anderson - Moderator]