Americans are enjoying wine more than ever before, and more often, with younger consumers perfectly willing to mix wine with other beverages in order to expand their enjoyment. They also love moscato and find sparkling wine an everyday occasion sort of beverage.
This and other findings were revealed in the E. & J. Gallo Winery-commissioned Gallo Consumer Wine Trends Survey, conducted in order to capture the current state of America’s wine drinking attitudes and behaviors.
The survey posed a series of questions to 1,001 frequent wine drinkers in the US, and the company reports that wine has become ubiquitous and more casual a beverage than ever before in this country. “These changes are part of an exciting transition in the wine industry as wineries focus more on catering to customers rather than asking them to conform,” according to the report.
Among frequent wine drinkers, those in the 25-40 age group are increasingly turning to social media to talk about and discover new wines, with more than half (54 percent) participating in conversations about wine on social media and nearly half (49 percent) posting and sharing wine photos. They are using the internet as a trusted resource for wine knowledge, with nearly half (49 percent) of younger drinkers saying that they respect bloggers' opinions.
When asked about specific wines, Moscato and Champagne were popular choices among the younger set - frequent wine drinkers under 40 are more than twice as likely to purchase Moscato (22 percent) when compared to 26 other popular varietals (11 percent on average) as well as when compared to older wine drinkers. These younger wine drinkers are also shedding the preconception that sparkling wines are just for special occasions - nearly all of them (93 percent) would pair sparkling wine and Champagne with the foods they're enjoying.
Generational differences were on prominent display with younger drinkers between the ages of 25 and 40 seemingly unbound by traditions that have often governed wine. Of those surveyed, 66 percent mix wine with fruit or fruit juice; 51 percent make wine cocktails; 48 percent mix wine with other cocktail mixers like club soda; 46 percent drink wine over ice; and 27 percent occasionally drink wine with a straw
The 2014 Gallo Consumer Wine Trends Survey was conducted by Libran Research & Consulting among 1,001 nationally representative U.S. wine-drinking adults ranging in age from 25 to 64. The survey was conducted using an email invitation and online survey between the dates of June 20th and June 24th, 2014. More information about E. &. J. Gallo Winery can be found at www.gallo.com and additional findings from the 2014 Gallo Consumer Wine Trends Survey are available at www.GalloWineTrends.com.