NY Times: The American wine industry has an old people problem

[jswordy]

The state of the American wine industry is grim, according to a closely watched report that annually analyzes its trajectory. Winemakers and advertisers are missing out on younger consumers, the report says, by failing to produce wines that fit their budgets and neglecting to reach out to them with targeted marketing campaigns.

“State of the U.S. Wine Industry 2023,” which has made recommendations for more than 20 years, found that the only area of growth for American wine was among consumers over 60, said its author, Rob McMillan, executive vice president of Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, Calif., and a longtime analyst of the American wine industry. The biggest growth area, he said, was among 70- to 80-year-olds.



https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/26/dining/drinks/american-wine-industry.html

 

[ratflinger]

Failing to fit their budgets??? Uh, Trader Joes sells good wine cheap, so does Sam's & Costco. There is quite a lot of good, cheap wine. Heck, even the local supermarket doesn't do a bad job. I don't think price is the issue here. High priced marketing campaigns add money to the selling price of wine. Its more of exposure to good wine that increases sales, and maybe the idea that wine is for old people.

 

[Boatboy24]

If Sutter Home white zin isn't cheap enough, I don't know what is. Talk about a gateway wine!

 

[Terryfirma]

Wine seems to have more of an image problem- and a lack-of -education about types of wine problem.
Marketing could be much better.
But also, young people have hundreds of options beyond beer and liquor -seltzers, ciders, kombucha, teas,
“ botanicals” etc.
Wine has a mature and snooty image.
( I didn’t really like it until I was in my 30’s-
It always put me to sleep after 1 glass!. :}

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Bring back boones farm. That will entice the 17 and 18 yr olds.

 

[Shurt1073]

One graph shows the tracking started in 2007 so I think we need to also consider the ebb and flow of our economy. The 2008 recession would show up in the graph for 2008-2009 with less wine purchased by young people but going up a little once the economy improved. Just a thought but its an interesting discussion why younger people aren't buying their portion of wine. Too many other choices, cost, or not enough disposable income? I will do my best to take up the slack!

 

[ibglowin]

As a retired “boomer”. Don’t really care. Maybe it will drive down the cost of my wine club shipments from both WA and CA…….. But I doubt it.

 

[BigDaveK]

As a retired “boomer”. Don’t really care. Maybe it will drive down the cost of my wine club shipments from both WA and CA…….. But I doubt it.

Interestingly, the price of wine adjusted for inflation hasn't changed that much over time. That darn inflation.. In the 90's I bought very nice wines from local wineries for around $5 a bottle and now they're approaching $15 a bottle (or more). Making my own wine is a wonderful, enjoyable, and delicious inflation hedge.

 

[southernfried]

The only advertisements I ever see for wines are always talking about how many or which awards they have won and showing well dressed people in expensive settings politely enjoying a semi formal or formal party. Its little wonder that the industry is stagnating
I've had pricey bottles of wine that are wonderful but honesty not any better that some of the "bargain priced" wines in the grocery stores.
Beer has fun, Whiskey and Tequilas has sex appeal and sophistication , wine has snob
Source I'm a semi reformed redneck with redneck friends who sneer at my country wines until they try them. It's not the taste or the effect it's the perception

 

[ChuckD]

I'm a semi reformed redneck with redneck friends who sneer at my country wines until they try them. It's not the taste or the effect it's the perception

Yep.

Around here wine is for thanksgiving and Christmas dinner… and what your mom drinks. Guys, and most younger women, drink beer or mixed drinks.

When my son got married at our place we broke out the wine I made and bottled for their wedding. By the end of the night almost everyone was drinking it… straight from the bottle while dancing up a storm.

 

[user 32114]

The state of the American wine industry is grim, according to a closely watched report that annually analyzes its trajectory. Winemakers and advertisers are missing out on younger consumers, the report says, by failing to produce wines that fit their budgets and neglecting to reach out to them with targeted marketing campaigns.

“State of the U.S. Wine Industry 2023,” which has made recommendations for more than 20 years, found that the only area of growth for American wine was among consumers over 60, said its author, Rob McMillan, executive vice president of Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, Calif., and a longtime analyst of the American wine industry. The biggest growth area, he said, was among 70- to 80-year-olds.



https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/26/dining/drinks/american-wine-industry.html

TALK ABOUT BULK AGING,,,,,,
Dawg

 

[ChuckD]

The state of the American wine industry is grim,

And you wouldn’t know it by the proliferation of small wineries. My wife and I have had some wonderful afternoons and discovered some great out-of-the-way places by Googling “wineries near me” while taking the slow road home.

 

[ChuckD]

And you wouldn’t know it by the proliferation of small wineries. My wife and I have had some wonderful afternoons and discovered some great out-of-the-way places by Googling “wineries near me” while taking the slow road home.

If I open my phone to search I just need to type “wi” and auto fill does the rest! How does it know?

 

[Obbnw]

When has wine not had an old age problem?

 

[balatonwine]

The only advertisements I ever see for wines are always talking about how many or which awards they have won and showing well dressed people in expensive settings politely enjoying a semi formal or formal party. Its little wonder that the industry is stagnating

Best comment.

Maybe the wine industry does not have an age issue, but simply a marketing issue. Old people tend to have more money than young people, so maybe some marketers spend too much time on that demographic. So maybe the marketing is badly skewed to try to grab some of that known old money while badly ignoring the youth future money market.

Wine making is a long term project. If one has vineyards it is a decades long project. Sadly, marketing is a trivial, tiny, infinitesimal short term project. Trying to explain wine to a marketing person can be........... difficult.

 

[BernardSmith]

I could be terribly wrong but it strikes me that marketing is at the heart of the problem... and I don't just mean advertising. Wine is bottled in ways that may not make it attractive to younger folk. It certainly is not presented as being hip and cool. How /when is wine coded to be consumed? Certainly not when you are doing what 20 -30 year olds are doing in their leisure time. When was the last time a six pack was "paired"?

 

[CDrew]

Maybe. But I didn't drink much wine in my 20s either. I think the wine industry just needs to calm down. $100 bottles of wine is not a recipe for success. But $12 everyday wine is the recipe for success. Drink great wine on the weekend and OK wine wine during the week. I don't know about you guys, but for me, I have wine with dinner almost every night. If I was drinking $100 bottles each time, I'd go broke.

Disclaimer-knowing what I know, I'd basically never drink $100 wine. The marginal improvements over $20/bottle are tiny. And part of the fun is finding great wines that are not that expensive. And there are many of these. Now, Norcal is different from Peoria, still....

Marketing--wine + food is the place to be. As people age they appreciate this simple relationship. I am not worried about the wine industry in the USA. It may need to morph and change over time, but it's here to stay. Now, Northern California is different from Kansas but as time goes on, wine is likely to stay strong.

 

[ChuckD]

I don’t know about the big commercial wineries but here in the Midwest there are small wineries in every county. Heck I just found a new one when I had to take a detour not 20 miles from my house.

Anyways. My son is mid 20’a and he got engaged at a local winery. We often do a winery day when we visit. There always seems to be one that has live music and good food. Maybe he is not the norm, but they and the crowd they run with seem to do wineries more than bars on the weekends. I think wineries that market themselves as destinations are doing ok.

 

[heatherd]

I was looking for wine that was cheap and sweet in my younger days. Now I prefer dry and have a little more cash. If wine doesn't evolve for the individual person's journey, it will certainly become obsolete.

 

[southernfried]

I bottle most of my stuff in 350ml/12 oz plastic juice bottles instead of 750ml glass., we drink or share it fairly quickly and are not worried about ageing it.
We never feel like we have to finish off a bottle, they can be enjoyed by the pool without issue and are a great size without having to worry about finishing a bottle.
There are lots of options for "Marketing, industry etc. to make wines more accessible and available to the general public.