Anecdotally, I don’t think that would be very successful. When I go out with my wife, friends, etc, most people seem to buy wine by the glass or bottle because having a glass makes it feel more like an experience - not because they’re treasuring the quality of the wine. I do tell my friends when we go out I’d rather get a cocktail (something I don’t make at home) than spend 3-4x on a glass of wine and most of them get it.
Also, the cost to get into wine is pretty high. Maybe, relative to income, higher than it’s ever been for a lot of people. I’ve tried maybe 1k-2k different bottles and I know I haven’t even scratched the surface of what’s out there. Again anecdotally, I just don’t think it’s worth it for most people sadly.
Well it’s worked many many times for me. The fine wine top tier wines are a small category and not what i target. I try to get people to take the step from industrial wines to the entry level of family owned wineries. That’s only $20-40 and achievable. It would make a huge difference to them
VinoShipper issued their first annual report a couple of weeks ago. It shows strong millennial support for wine (etc). (see pic/graph excerpt). VS represents small, craft/family producers which also (typically) brings better QPR. I suppose these are important factors. I shared the report with Rob M and here’s his take:
“Their data are quite different from all others I’ve seen, so there is something creating that bias in the data. They do say that “the report is compiled from the transaction data of over 2,000 craft alcohol producers across 40+ states, and go further to say that the most common price tier sold was $20 - $30 (last year that was the $10-$20 tier). The producer mix is predominantly micro to small wine, cider, and mead producers.”
It’s possible that the sales are on the lower end of the spectrum that might favor millennials? Just a guess.”
i didn’t take a deep dive here, but is this wine at restaurants, bottle shops etc?
i think my fellow millenials tend to buy a decent amount at restaurants btg and such but bigger investments, say $100 plus bottles are few and far between.
just my 2 cents as someone in the group.
My take away is millenials get interested when they find wines with a non-zero Q value. There’s the market to appeal to. And who gives a rats ass if the producers of industrial plonk are losing market share.
This actually isn’t new info. This was first reported about a decade ago that younger generations were drinking less wine, but much higher quality. The 21-29 segment has been outspending prior generations over the same time frame at a 4:1 rate, and that was after inflation adjustment too!
VinoShipper is a shipping and compliance platform that wineries can use to ship wines, etc, only direct to consumers and clients (no retail, etc).
Shipments to distributors or directly to retailers/shops/restaurants require other commercial processes (and states require us to have a nonresident license, and if we ship to retailers/restaurants direct, we would be required to report monthly, pay excise taxes, etc).
Sorry, I scrolled up and didn’t see you saying that or getting attacked. I don’t think anyone here cares about industrial plonk. I think everyone agrees the on-the-beaten-path wines that are the entirety of what most people encounter is a barrier to entry. That it takes exposure to an exciting wine for someone to get excited about wine.
But, there are huge producers that make decent wine. There have been success stories where brands created buzz and built themselves up being much better for the same price down at the low end. That’s probably the best we can expect in the box store realm, where brand name rules. Being able to go into any store nationally and find that known quantity or that advertised wine that’s getting all the buzz.
Here’s an article about Wente successfully changing their business model: How a California premium winery quickly flipped its boomer-dominated consumer base to younger generations - The North Bay Business Journal
So, you have a brand and you have your customers and you ride the status quo. Maybe that’s “good enough” or maybe your market share is gradually shrinking. Or, you can look around for opportunities, which are there, and get off your ass and grow your business. Huge wineries can and sometimes do step up quality, outreach, and listen and adjust to shifting consumer demand. We’ve seen high quality small producers do the same to great success.
Not saying you, but I was attacked for criticizing grocery store wines by several people, which was quite shocking.
Are all of these large beverage companies bad? No. Are some way worse than the rest? Yes.
Wente has been near and dear to my heart for a long time. They’ve been reliable as they come for 23 years I’ve been in the business (and even enjoyed private label wines that have done for other retailers).
I listened to a couple Wente podcasts on XChateau, and the new generation that has taken over seems much more ruthlessly business oriented than the prior era’s management. But I guess I’m not their target audience since I don’t own a Facebook or a TikTok clock.
Advertising at the level that Constellation does for Meiomi and Kim Crawford is very tough, and incredibly expensive. Social media is really the only platform that some companies have.
Wente has always been pretty business focused. They export a lot of wine and are quick to move into areas with newly emerging middle class folks. In the early mid 1990s, they made a big effort in Russia, flying in chefs to hold wine and food events to create a local identity. I saw their wine for sale in a high end grocery store in Moscow as early as 1993, not long after Soviet Union collapsed. They were also the in-flight wine on Aeroflot international flights for a while. Their reasoning was that it’s easier to create growth opportunities abroad than to grow market share in US.
Another example: they tore out parts of one of their high quality historic vineyards to create an 18 hole golf course.
