30-Something Millennials Enjoying Wine

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.

The study, known as the U.S. Wine Consumer Benchmark Segmentation Survey, has been run by WMC every one to two years since 1997, making it the longest continual survey of the American wine consumer, having completed 18 studies to this point.

In the 2023 study, a sample of 4,470 legal drinking age Americans were surveyed, which included 1,584 wine consumers. I, as the President of Wine Market Council, assisted in analyzing the results. However, the survey was conducted by research provider, Caravan OmniBus.

This year’s WMC study incorporated a longitudinal analysis by Miller that compared the average wine consumption rates of Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z consumers as they came of legal drinking age at 21 years old.

The below graph illustrates how Millennials lead in the 2023 average consumption rates at 36%. It also captures the ‘Covid Hangover’ effect, somewhat due to some Americans beginning to drink less alcohol generally as a result of increased consumption during the worst of the pandemic, among other reasons.

Percent of Wine Consumption by American Generation Across Time

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.

It’s interesting to note that now, high-income millennials are emerging as competition for high-income baby boomers (those aged 60+) in terms of wine consumption significance. Commenting on this revelation, we have insight from Danny Brager, a seasoned wine business analyst and prior senior vice president of Nielsen’s Beverage Alcohol Practice Area, who also serves on the WMC Advisory Board.

“Core wine consumers, those who consume wine at least once a week or more, consist of one-third upper-income millennials. This group now represents a larger sector of the essential Core wine consumer segment than high-income baby boomers,” Brager revealed. “Add to that, the millennial generation’s size has now surpassed that of the baby boomers.”

High-Income Millennials Now Outpacing Boomers as Fundamental Wine Consumers

Looking deeper, when we categorize consumers into premium wine consumers who regularly part with $20 or more on a bottle of wine, millennials in their 30s will shell out an average of $65.80 per bottle. In comparison, baby boomers aged 60+ are only willing to part with an average of $36.67 on special wine for special occasions.

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 noticed an uptick in the number of millennials who are members of our Casa Ceja Wine Club and who turn out for our quarterly wine release gatherings. Our Mexican roots are central to our approach, and we take pride in matching authentic Mexican food with our well-balanced wines. How about Mole Poblano with a Cabernet Sauvignon? It’s an invigorating change for millennials in pursuit of novel wine experiences!” said Dalia Ceja, who is in charge of marketing.

In contradiction to earlier observations that millennials were not adopting wine to the same extent as other age groups, it seems that now, as they move into their 30s, millennials are increasingly integrating wine into their lifestyles. The question that arises now is whether or not Gen Z will follow in their footsteps. Considering only about a third of them are of legal drinking age (21 – 26), it might be some time before we know how they respond to wine marketing strategies.

Ceja Vineyards has found success in attracting millennial consumers by offering wine pairings with Mexican food.