Lately, I’ve been reading a number of articles that talk about average wine prices dropping in part due to the fact that millennials don’t like wine as much as they like other types of alcohol. Wow. By 2027, millennials will have more spending power than Boomers. Double wow. In this article, we’ll explore millennials and wine.
My Boomer Background
Let me start by saying that I’m not a Millennial. According to Wikipedia, Millennials were born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s.
I’m a Baby Boomer who enjoys comparing my experiences as a child growing up with parents in a post-WWII era to the experiences of Millennials, today’s 20- and 30-somethings. There certainly is a different culture around wine. In some regards, I must confess that I’m envious.
When I was growing up, wine was something my parents brought out on special occasions. My parents didn’t have a lot of money. So the wine they drank wasn’t particularly good. But wine always made a guest appearance at events worth remembering. So there was an aura of sorts around wine.
The Different Life of Millennials
According to Fortune, “Americans between the ages of 21 and 34…purchase only 10% of wine sold at retail stores but account for 17% of the buying population, Nielsen data shows.”
The article goes on to say that wine is really for boomers and seniors, that “cost-conscious millennials are still bruised from the 2008 financial crisis and are delaying…even the leap to buying fine wines. On a per-serving basis, wine is more expensive than beer and spirits. That makes it tough for millennials to stomach a $30 bottle of wine with roughly five servings (and oxidizes), while a similarly priced bottle of Maker’s Mark serves 25 and has a long shelf life.”
Millennials’ Preferences
Fortune says that millennials prefer Pinot Noir, Muscat, sparking wines and Rosé and avoid Chardonnay, White Zinfandel, and pretty much everything else.
They look at wine as a casual social beverage, clearly necessitating a change to the wine industry’s elite approach.
If you know millennials, I would love to hear your thoughts about how the wine industry could do a better job of inviting them to the wine table. Please share your ideas with us here. Thanks.
As an independent wine consultant with WineShop At Home, I absolutely enjoy bringing a taste of the Napa wine country home to you one sip at a time. Whether you simply love to drink wine, seek a special personalized wine gift, or are in search of a new wine jobs opportunity as a wine consultant, feel free to contact me for a truly unique wine tasting experience!
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