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The wine industry is on a mission to get Millennials to drink more of its products. Wine’s core customers are still Boomers and Gen Xers. (The New York Times) |
NH: Silicon Valley Bank has released its State of the US Wine Industry 2022 report. The paper highlights that Boomers are still wine’s core consumers, despite hopes that Millennials would help boost the industry.
According to the report, adults 65+ make up 22.3% of the adult population and 27.2% of wine consumers. At the same time, those ages 21-34 make up 25.2% of the population but only 19.8% of wine consumers. In other words, Boomers are consuming wine above their statistical weight, and Millennials are not.
Several recent polls show that Boomers are more enthusiastic about wine than younger generations. A survey by The Harris Poll found that Boomers are the most likely to bring wine to a party.
Among those ages 65+, 49% would bring wine, and 18% would bring beer. But for those ages 35-64, wine and beer were almost evenly split. And among 21- to 34-year-olds, wine came in fifth place, behind beverages like beer and hard seltzer.
Boomers are also more likely to participate in wine clubs. In 2021, Boomers made up 35.5% of wine club members. And Millennials made up only 20.3%.
Indeed, the share of Millennials in wine clubs has risen in the last two years.
But the report suspects this rise is due to young adults joining Zoom wine tastings during lockdowns. And as Covid-19 ebbs, Millennial membership will probably fall.
Some may be surprised that Millennials aren’t drinking more wine. Just a few years ago, surveys showed the generation had a soft spot for the beverage. (See “One Cocktail, Hold the Booze.”)
So what’s changed? Millennials are now reaching for a greater variety in drinks: hard seltzers, craft beers, cocktails, ciders, and specialty wines. At the same time, they aren’t heavily drinking any of these alcohols. (See "Millennials Still Wary of Alcohol.")
In fact, the entire beer, wine, and spirits industry is struggling with the decline in alcohol consumption by young people.
In the 1980s through the early 2000s, those ages 21-25 were some of the top spenders on booze, and those ages 55+ were some of the lowest. But starting around 2010, that trend reversed. Young adults now spend the least, and older adults spend the most.
The report calls on wine producers to do the best they can by appealing more to Millennials' tastes. This includes amping up sustainability and focusing on local ingredients.
The report also issues a warning: if the industry fails to convert more Millennials, wine sales could fall by a staggering 20% over the next decade.
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ABOUT NEIL HOWE
Neil Howe is a renowned authority on generations and social change in America. An acclaimed bestselling author and speaker, he is the nation's leading thinker on today's generations—who they are, what motivates them, and how they will shape America's future.
A historian, economist, and demographer, Howe is also a recognized authority on global aging, long-term fiscal policy, and migration. He is a senior associate to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., where he helps direct the CSIS Global Aging Initiative.
Howe has written over a dozen books on generations, demographic change, and fiscal policy, many of them with William Strauss. Howe and Strauss' first book, Generations is a history of America told as a sequence of generational biographies. Vice President Al Gore called it "the most stimulating book on American history that I have ever read" and sent a copy to every member of Congress. Newt Gingrich called it "an intellectual tour de force." Of their book, The Fourth Turning, The Boston Globe wrote, "If Howe and Strauss are right, they will take their place among the great American prophets."
Howe and Strauss originally coined the term "Millennial Generation" in 1991, and wrote the pioneering book on this generation, Millennials Rising. His work has been featured frequently in the media, including USA Today, CNN, the New York Times, and CBS' 60 Minutes.
Previously, with Peter G. Peterson, Howe co-authored On Borrowed Time, a pioneering call for budgetary reform and The Graying of the Great Powers with Richard Jackson.
Howe received his B.A. at U.C. Berkeley and later earned graduate degrees in economics and history from Yale University.
