Dr Vino's wine blog

“Wine is the new black.” So I said recently (and was quoted in the NY Sun) at a conference discussing wine and the “youth market” (roughly 21- 25 year olds, aka “millennials”). Even though I’m a Gen Xer, someone felt I was still young enough to qualify and offer some perspective on younger drinkers

Wine is trendy for younger people (stretching “young” to a generous under 40), particularly young, urban professionals. There’s a huge thirst for wine knowledge in this demographic.

But just what them there “youts” want in wine and how they learn about it is an open question for wine marketers. Vinexpo, the French trade show organizers, surveyed a few of the youngest, legal wine drinkers in a variety of countries. Their sample size per country was very small and the findings were not really eye-opening and as Peter Hellman points out in the NY Sun story.

What I found much more interesting were the results of an informal survey of 181 Columbia Business School students conducted by the indefatigable Philippe Newlin, Tasting Director at Wine & Spirits magazine and wine instructor at Columbia. Two-thirds of those responding to this survey were between 26 and 30, so slightly older than the “millennials” but an interesting group nonetheless given their relative youth and future earning power.

Here are some of the take aways from the survey:

* Image: 86% of respondents felt wine had an image that was “Sophisticated” versus “Cool & trendy“ (5%) or “Snobbish/Elitist“ (5%).
* Health: While the majority agreed that wine is a healthier choice, 65% of those surveyed agreed that health concerns do not impact their choice to drink wine.
* Frequency: 65% of respondents drinking wine 2 – 4 times per week or more (only 6 % for an every day glass of vino).
* Recommendations from friends were another significant factor in the group’s wine purchases.
* Social: 39% of those surveyed rank restaurants as the their primary venue for drinking wine, followed by groups and social settings.
* Grape varieties were the first thing on the label 35% of respondents look for when buying wine, followed by country of origin and price. Interestingly, brand was important for only 2%.
* Average spend per bottle is rising for the group versus two years ago with bottles priced between $15 – 20 now out pacing $10 – 15 as the biggest category of expenditure
* Edu-ma-cation: 61% believed they would drink more wine if they knew more about wine in general

I tool a quick survey of participants in my NYU classes and the majority said that most recommendations come from friends and family. That signals a possible generational shift, away from critics that consumers will never meet and toward a more social form of wine recommendations with the possibility for feedback. Did you like a wine? Share it with a friend. Or not like it? Tell a friend to steer clear. Like a blog it makes wine more contingent, subjective and fodder for discussion. I’ll drink to that.

Where you do get your wine recommendations from?

Click here for the executive summary of Philippe Newlin’s study.