Sparkling wine posted a 0.6% sales gain in U.S. retail.

Sparkling wine returned to growth in U.S. retail sales in the four weeks ended Aug. 15, while the broader wine category continued to lose ground and still wine remained under pressure, according to a new NielsenIQ report.

Across measured retail channels in the United States, wine sales fell 3.4% in dollar terms from a year earlier and 4.6% in volume over the same period. The data excludes wine-based cocktails and reflects NielsenIQ’s tracked retail distribution, not the full U.S. wine market.

Still wine accounted for much of the decline. NielsenIQ said still wine sales dropped 4.0% in value and 5.1% in volume in the four-week period. Sparkling wine moved in the other direction, posting a 0.6% gain in dollar sales and a 0.3% increase in volume. The shift matters because the category has been one of the few bright spots in a market that continues to contract physically, with fewer units sold even when dollar sales hold up better.

Nonalcoholic wine also continued to expand at a much faster pace than the rest of the market. NielsenIQ reported that nonalcoholic wine sales rose 17.6% in dollars and 14.2% in volume from a year earlier. That kept the segment in double-digit growth and extended a pattern that has set it apart from traditional wine categories.

The gap between dollar sales and volume suggests that the average value per unit sold was modestly higher than a year ago. Based on the NielsenIQ figures, the overall wine category showed an implied increase of about 1.3% in average value per unit. In nonalcoholic wine, the implied increase was about 3.0%. Those differences can reflect several factors, including pricing, product mix, and promotions, but the NielsenIQ data does not separate those effects.

The latest numbers were slightly less negative than the previous rolling four-week period ended Aug. 8. Compared with that earlier window, the overall decline moderated by 0.4 percentage points in dollar sales and 0.5 percentage points in volume. Because the reporting periods are moving windows that partially overlap, the change does not represent a clean week-to-week comparison, but it does show some easing in the pace of contraction.

Supplier performance was mixed. NielsenIQ said The Wine Group lost 240,000 cases in volume and saw revenue fall 9.3%. Deutsch Family moved the other way, gaining 27,000 cases and increasing revenue 5.3%. The figures point to a market where overall demand remains weak, but some producers are still finding growth through category exposure, brand positioning, or channel performance.

The report adds to evidence that the U.S. wine business remains divided between weaker mainstream demand and a smaller number of categories that are still advancing. Still wine continues to post the sharpest losses by both dollars and volume, while sparkling wine has edged back into positive territory and nonalcoholic wine is maintaining strong momentum.

NielsenIQ’s figures cover measured retail distribution and do not include all U.S. wine sales or the hospitality sector, where restaurant and bar sales can follow different patterns. The data also does not allow a precise breakdown of how much of the dollar performance came from higher prices, shifting product mix, or promotional activity. Even with those limits, the latest report shows a market still shrinking in unit terms, with sparkling wine and nonalcoholic wine standing out against the broader decline.