New Study Shows How Wine Is Winning Over The 30-Something Crowd

The death of wine among U.S. Millennials is grossly exaggerated, according to a new study by Wine Market Council, a non-profit research firm. Though other recent reports have bemoaned the fact that Millennials (ages 27 to 42 in 2023) are not adopting wine at the rate of other generations, now that the majority are in their 30’s, that trend is reversing.

In fact, not only are 30-something Millennials consuming more wine, but high-end Millennial consumers spend more per bottle on average than Baby Boomers. At a recent conference, Wine Market Council (WMC) Director of Research, Christian Miller, commented on these findings.

“Despite all of the concerns in the press, this study shows that the Millennial generation has not underperformed in terms of their population as wine drinkers across time,” said Christian Miller.

Calculating Generational Wine Consumption

The study, entitled the U.S. Wine Consumer Benchmark Segmentation Survey, has been conducted by WMC every one to two years since 1997, and is considered to be the longest running survey of the American wine consumer, with 18 studies completed to date.

The 2023 study included a representative sample of 4,470 legal-drinking age Americans, of which 1,584 were wine consumers. As President of Wine Market Council, I was involved in helping to analyze the results, but the survey was outsourced to research provider, Caravan OmniBus.

Millennials Pull Ahead of Gen X and Gen Z Wine Consumers

As part of this year’s WMC study, Miller conducted a longitudinal analysis comparing the average wine consumption rates of GenX, Millennials, and GenZ consumers, as they reached legal drinking age of 21 years.

As the graph below highlights, Millennials have pulled ahead of the pack at 36% average consumption in 2023. The graph also shows the ‘Covid Hangover,’ resulting, in part, from some Americans starting to drink less alcohol in general, as an aftermath of increased consumption during the depths of the pandemic, in addition to other reasons.

In addition, this analysis highlights an interesting phenomenon in that both Millennials and Gen Z embraced wine at higher levels when they first turned age 21, only to have that decline. However, with Millennials, wine consumption has since increased.

This supports other wine lifecycle research showing that young adults enjoy experimenting with different beverages when they first reach legal drinking age, but generally do not adopt wine as a more regular part of their lifestyle until they reach their 30’s, when they are more settled, and often have higher-paying jobs, mortgages, and a family.

Indeed, the 2023 WMC study showed that 71% of American wine drinkers own a home, 60% are married, 53% live in the suburbs, and 36% have children under the age of 18 living at home.

Millennials Rival Boomers in Wine Drinker Importance

Another intriguing aspect of the study showed that high-income Millennials are now rivaling high-income Baby Boomers (ages 60+) in wine consumption importance. Danny Brager, Wine Business Analyst and former SVP of Nielsen’s Beverage Alcohol Practice Area, is also a WMC Advisory Board member, and commented on this finding.

“One-third of upper-income Millennials are Core wine consumers (meaning they drink wine at least once a week or more), and they now account for a larger percentage of that key Core wine consumer segment than high income Baby Boomers,” reported Brager. “What’s more is the Millennial generation is now larger than Baby Boomers.”(See Chart below)

Furthermore, when segmenting consumers into high-end wine consumers, or those who regularly spend $20 or more for a bottle of wine, 30-something Millennials will spend on average $65.80 per bottle, while 60+ Baby Boomers are only willing to spend $36.67 on average for wine on special occasions.

Wineries Confirm That Savvy Millennials are Purchasing Higher Priced Wine

Given the fact that wine sales volume has decreased in the U.S. in the last few years, I reached out to several winery professionals to see if they were experiencing the same increases in Millennial wine consumption and purchasing behavior. They confirmed that it was true, especially with higher-priced wine, wine that falls in the ‘better for you category,’ and wine that is more inclusive.

“The 30-something group, surprisingly young and responsible for 83% of purchases over $15, illustrates a vibrant, opportunity-filled market landscape far from the pessimistic portrayal of younger wine enthusiasts,” reported Karen Daenen, Director, Research & Consumer Insights, Jackson Family Wines.

At Scheid Family Wines, Heidi Scheid, Executive Vice President, said, “Millennials and Gen Z share a different relationship with wine then their parents did. They appear to embrace moderation, which is actually a good thing! The greater focus on health and wellness from the younger generations inspired our development of our zero sugar, low alcohol wine option, Sunny with a Chance of Flowers.”

Tapping into the growing diversity of the U.S. population, Ceja Vineyards, a Mexican-American family owned winery in Napa Valley, is finding success with food and wine pairings.

“At Ceja Vineyards, we’ve noted an increase of millennials joining our Casa Ceja Wine Club who attend our quarterly wine release events. We highlight our Mexican heritage and pair authentic Mexican cuisine with our balanced wines. Mole Poblano paired with Cabernet Sauvignon? Yes, please! It’s a refreshing change for millennials who seek new experiences in wine!,” reported Dalia Ceja, Executive Market Director.

So despite previous reports of Millennials not adopting wine as much as other generations, it appears that as they enter their 30’s, Millennials have increasingly embraced wine as part of their life style. The question now, is will Gen Z follow suit? Given that only about one-third have reached legal drinking age (21 – 26), it may be a while before wine marketers find out.