WINE SALES GIVE A BOOST TO RETAILERS

Table wine continues to be the fastest growing segment among alcoholic beverages, including beer and spirits. In 2005, table wine dollar sales in the food channel ran laps around beer, which posted 1.4% gains as compared to 8.7% in the wine category. Table wine only slightly outpaced spirits, however, which experienced a growth of 8.3%. Liquor and drug channel showed similar trends, according to an ACNielsen study.U.S. consumers are also spending more money on wine, increasing sales by 8.6% as