Millennial wine drinkers are most likely to have come from a culture of wine drinking in the home, according to a new report that looked at how the digitally savvy, “obsessively social” and mobile generation is reshaping the wine industry.
After looking at the drinking habits of Millennials in the US under the age of 35, a report by Wine Intelligence found that young wine drinkers were most likely to have grown up in a household where families ate meals together and where glasses of wine made regular appearances at meal times among the adults.
“Our investigation of Millennials for this report has turned up some oft-suspected truths about wine drinking among the under 35s,” reads the report.
“One of the most fascinating is that they are indeed made, not born: just because you were born into a wealthy family, doesn’t make you a wine connoisseur by default.”
In the report, Millennials are defined as those born after 1980, between the ages of 21 and 34, and are singled out for the important market segment they represent: Millennial wine drinkers represent a third of the regular US wine drinking population and are only increasing in size, researchers say.
“Perhaps the main reason to care about Millennials...is that the wine industry now needs to understand, adapt and cater to a generation of consumers who exhibit fundamentally different consumer behavior patterns compared with any generation that came before.”
That’s because they are less stable than their parents and grandparents; are well-traveled; live in cities; have college educations; and have worked at least three jobs before the age of 30.
In sum, they’re more restless, a little fickle and easily distracted.
For the Millennial ‘epicureans’ -- regular wine drinkers -- that translates to more adventurous palates and an openness to trying new wine styles including bottles from unconventional wine growing areas.
Authors also found that the same group makes wine their choice of tipple because it’s considered a sophisticated beverage that adds a certain cachet to their personal image.
- Millennials
