It may seem as if younger drinkers aren’t interested in wine and may even have a negative view, but Mike Lakusta, who is the CEO of the research firm Ethnifacts, encourages the wine industry to not give up on Gen Z and Millennials. 

They are drinking wine, and perhaps, more than prior generations. 

“People 21 to 29 are ticking up in terms of percentage of them drinking wine,” he said in a Dec. 17 webinar hosted by Wine Market Council (WMC).  “Millennials are passing the older consumer and the Gen X ? there is a very good light at the end of the tunnel.”

Ethnifacts, a demographic-focused research group, partnered with WMC earlier this year to try and answer the question most frequently asked by WMC members: How does the industry attract younger and diverse customers?

The first portion of the six-month research project consisted of a qualitative shop-along, which followed 27 young adult and multicultural shoppers as they documented their experiences purchasing wine in the on- and off-premises. Results from that portion of the project were released in September. More recent work entailed a national survey of more than 1,500 consumers between the ages of 21-39. Results were segmented according to ethnic group and by 21-29 and 30-39 age groups to glean quantitative data on the impacts of both ethnicity and age. 

Lakusta discussed the results of the research project with David Aikens who is the former director of multicultural marketing for Barcardi, WMC Research Director Christian Miller and WMC President Liz Thach, who called the recent webinar just the “tip of the mountain.” She added subsequent webinars and reports will delve deeply into specific trends and topics. 

One of those is younger consumers’ perception of wine in relation to health and wellness. The results of the study indicated many younger consumers still view wine as a relatively healthy option in the beverage alcohol market.

“The good news for the wine industry is that 75% of these young multicultural consumers strongly or somewhat agree with drinking wine in moderation having health benefits that other alcoholic beverages do not,” Lakusta said. 

 Another reason for optimism is that cannabis use appears to not have as negative of an impact on wine consumption as previously believed. Only 50% of frequent wine drinkers are recreational cannabis users, however 54% have not changed or are drinking more wine, according to the study.  

Miller added that when he and his team examined the correlation between consumers drinking habits and cannabis consumption, there was not any significant correlation. 

Regarding consumer sentiment, the statistical evidence echoed the results of the shop-along research, Lakusta said. Wine needs to be more fun and accessible to retain current young drinkers and entice potential consumers.  

“Wine is viewed as something formal and special and to give as a gift by many of these young multicultural people, and that can be a plus and a minus,” Lakusta said. 

Across all ethnic groups, the top wine occasion is dinner at a formal restaurant (59%) followed by gifting (59%).  

Wine seems to have a firm hold on the relaxation category, especially among consumers in their 30s. One of the top reasons for drinking wine in this age group was for a weeknight dinner at home; 40% of respondents in the 30-39 age group said it was an ideal wine occasion. This makes sense for a demographic which is likely building a family and focusing on relaxing at the end of the day, Lakusta said.  

But wine risks losing this advantage in the market to beer and spirits, which ranked as the top choice for a relaxing beverage, especially in the older demographic. 

“While wine owns comfort and destressing, it needs to expand to other occasions that happen more frequently,” Lakusta said. Wine, he said, also “owns” sophistication and romance, as well as sharing and connecting with family.  One thing wine needs to work on owning: fun.

In the qualitative study, younger respondents said they typically reached for spirits when in a high-energy, party atmosphere, which is what Lakusta said is keeping many people in their 20’s from drinking wine.

However, among routine wine drinkers across demographics, those who drank more wine perceived it as more fun and energetic.  “So how do we get more people to feel that wine is all these things?” Lakusta asked.

Aikens chimed in that many respondents in the qualitative survey said they wanted to attend “wine and something” style events. At Pairings Portland, Lakusta shared, there was massive success when the wine shop hosted tastings inspired by Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, with each bottle of wine in the tasting assigned to a musical era in the artist’s discography.