The things I’ve heard most is a perception that wine makes people sleepy and sulphur dioxide gives hangovers. I think the perception that natural wines are healthier and doesn’t give as bad of hangovers, and often ‘organic’ or biodynamic (i.e. good for the earth) is the selling point over the taste. Health and social responsibility are prerequisites for younger consumers.
If only perception were reality. Social responsibility and health are important to all of us but we have the “perception” that it is the domain of the young. Perception is often the result of marketing. Remember all the designer clothes and shoes your kids just had to have when they were younger. I lived through that with five children. Thank goodness they outgrew it. Contemporary minimal intervention wines have been around at least since the 1960s driven by a few producers in Beaujolais. Then the Loire etc. The difference now is that Millennials are being SOLD “natural or natty” wines as though they were a panacea; as though they were something brand new to the world. It is a good thing that they are considering and starting to try more wine. With time, they will evolve as we have, to well-made wines by great producers. Some of those wines will have minimal intervention. Some will not. As the parent of one Millenial, two Boomers, and to Gen X’ers, my responsibility is to guide them and encourage them to try different wine from different regions to develop their palates and their preferences. My palate did not evolve on its own. It evolved in the company of others some far more experienced and some less so. It was a team effort.
As one of those pesky millennials - who works at a wine bar - I can tell you that there’s definitely interest in wine amongst peers but there’s a) a fiscal barrier to entry and b) an intimidation factor that goes along with requiring knowledge to make purchasing decisions that can seem overwhelming and hostile.
I think the higher-than-average interest in natural/non-intervention/non-typical wine amongst my demographic is a way for people my age and my income bracket to stake a claim and aesthetic in the wine world without having to run the gamut of the usual gatekeepers, both financial and otherwise. It simply isn’t feasible for most of us to methodically make our way through the premier regions and styles of the wine world without encountering some major difficulties, so we marry our desire for sincerity and thoughtful production with our curiosity. Natural wine provides an affordable and interesting outlet for curiosity and community.
For the record, I think having a foundation in the classics is really beneficial to a comprehensive appreciation of wine. But for hobbyists who are looking for a way to connect with peers over some cool drinks, the finer points of bottles Bordeaux older than we are and more than our rent are largely lost on us. It stands to reason that the way we get our information is different, too; we want it from “authentic” sources like friends, age-appropriate expertise, and wines that seem to tap into the larger social consciousness.
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Certainly not pesky Sean. As I mentioned previously, my youngest daughter is a Millennial. It isn’t that she doesn’t know and appreciate good wine. She has been drinking from my cellar since she was young. She still shares with me the wines she tries and likes and those she does not. She is also happy to accept wines from my cellar. In spite of her experience with well made wines, she and her husband have still gotten caught up in the Natty wine marketing machine. Before that “fad” they got caught up in the mezcal craze. Before that, vodka. And so forth.
As you well know there are many excellent wines that do not cost more than your rent unless you are living in your parent’s basement. Learning to appreciate good wine is a journey. I took the journey with help and encouragement from others and I am hopeful that the new generation of wine drinkers will evolve. That will take encouragement and tasting. You are in the perfect position to help them evolve. In my opinion, Millenials are much like we were when we were younger. They latch onto the things that are supposedly new and improved. Eventually they will learn whether or not they are really new and/or really improved. But that won’t happen without some guidance. Until then, let them drink mezcal.
Absolutely! I’m interested to see whether natural wine becomes a gateway drug of sorts to more classic regions for a lot of people my age or whether they’ll stay in that zone (or move out to something entirely different when it becomes slightly less cool). Anything that brings people into wine or gets them more interested in the subject is a good thing.
Ultimately, I just try to bring as much enthusiasm as I can to the gig (not really tough if you actually love what you’re selling!) and make it as welcoming and inclusive an environment as I can. Show, not tell.
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I would have benefited from someone like you Sean, when I was starting out. I would have better understood the process of learning about and tasting different wine to discover what you love. It would have saved me a lot of money that I spent unwisely too.
That’s really kind of you, Michael! I’m sure you ended up okay in the end. 
Please drop by if you’re ever up here!
I too am a pesky millennial of the English variety. Agree with a lot of what you say, definitely a few starting barriers with millenials getting into wine. Think it takes a bit of effort to develop preferences and understanding different wines which may put some off? Luckily I’ve always shared wine with my dad who gave me a great deal of exposure to different wine from a young age.
I believe a lot of my generation buy into natural wine in combination environmental factors and fair trade/pricing. We perhaps put more weight on the ethics, meaning and story of the wine compared to the heritage. An area I’m looking to service with www.vinumipsum.com which is launching this week.
I think this is one of the most insightful things I’ve read on here ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Certainly I am, and I think most people are, as susceptible to brands/labels/groupthink as what’s in the glass
Wholeheartedly agree with Yao C and Sean’s comment.
I’m another Millennial here. The biggest influence on my wine drinking has easily been 1. friends, 2. experiences with wine, and 3. collecting wine. I love hearing what friends are trying and I also love opening a bottle with them to try. Being able to go to a restaurant and to have some knowledge to pick out a wine to drink at the table just makes the night that much better. Next going to different regions and visiting the winemakers to get a feel for how they develop their wines. Lastly, I love the chase of finding bottles and learning about wine. Nothing better than getting a “white whale” bottle or finding something that is hard to get.
To add to the discussion, I, too, am a millennial wine enthusiast. My wine journey started when I was 21 and found myself at a local wine retail shop. There, I was exposed to old world wines. I loved it so much that I became part of the team not too long after stepping foot there. I wasn’t exposed to many popular or culty wines there, or I hadn’t realized their popularity then. As small a wine shop as we are, we aren’t able to obtain allocation to most fine wines out there (probably best for my wallet ). I am glad to have learned and experienced classic wines of reverence. Eventually, I started following sommeliers on Instagram and local fine wine retailers, which expanded my worldview on fine wines (DRC, Roumier, Ramonet, etc, etc). I can only dream of having these wines to this day, but I still enjoy reading about them in the meantime. Then, of course, you can’t follow all of these somms without having other wine accounts popping up on your explore page. Wine bloggers/“influencers” started filling up my feed and that’s when I started picking up on new/organic/limited produced wines/winemakers (ex: De Moor Chablis and Maison des Joncs – the latter actually was quite interesting, but delicious to taste) as well as the discussion on “clean wines” ![[wow.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/7/7d450e9830889c8943b674446a21b7254cad657e.gif "wow"){kind=small}
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From discussion with my friends who are very new to wine, they seem to pick up on wines (mainly lambruscos, rosé, natural wines) through local wine shops, which seems to be doing well with marketing on Instagram.
In short, for me my path through wine exploration are in this order:
- retail wine job
- other fine wine retailers
- Instagram
3a. sommeliers
3b. wine “influencers”
Cindy, that’s awesome that you found old world wines at 21!!! I was mid-30s when I finally made the discovery. Probably have a year or two closer to retirement as a result of the late discovery. But oh, if I knew then what I know now…
I am an older millennial (in some categorizations, I am GenX). My main sources of information are:
- tastings at local wine bars,
- descriptions on online retailers’ websites or B&M shelf talkers (some of them used in the negative sense… If it’s highly rated by certain critics, or contains the word “jammy” or equivalents, I avoid)
- wine podcasts
- salespeople at my local wine store who have given me good recommendations
- wine travel
I think that specialists will learn about the appearance of new wines via the Internet (catalogs, blogs, producers’ websites), at exhibitions, from the producers themselves (if they have their contacts).
Online is the number one winner, hands down, given all that’s out there. Even in a LWS, people (all + millennials) fact check prices online for “new” wines, so there’s that. Its just a broader canvas to bounce your opinion off of and costs nothing.
What resonates though, let’s start with emotion. If I had a trusted source or an inner circle of knowledgeable friends extending out to sources either reinforcing online or pushing me to look online at thing they trust, that’s building credibility. They are more likely to trust and buy. Forums come in to play here, and that is more group thought influenced. Informed, yet prone to bias as a newbie (a millennial), until they figure themselves out. However there is a benefit that it has past a sniff test. “New” wines pop up daily, I can have one tomorrow for you to buy.
The fact is “new” wines come and go and there are a hoard of people pushing them regardless. The reliable names don’t become reliable from online. You are rarely first. They come from places like here. Folks that live in the area and know the guy that sweat it out, or can attest to a wine as bonafide because they have had tastings or collected for a duration before it was a thing. And not eveything is known in this forum, so its some work. Wine becomes an investment of time first and then money if done right.
Be prepared to read through the standard push campaigning to sell a “new” wine. Some glitter, some catch phrases, only have it now and rare. A crazy score on an unknown and someone got paid off, a “sure” winner from a lesser vintage (the only one), a limited time offer that you need to do now before it goes away. Red flags.
I would agree with online as the key method here. Making information easy to access without separate searching makes for a smooth experience. I spend a lot of my day tinkering with various systems and researching specific use cases; most days I want to leave that level of detail behind at the office and want to just click, read background & peer/pro reviews, buy, ship
As a millennial collector (read wine geek), internet research has taught me the most, and pointed me in the direction of quality. That being said, I think I’m an exception in that many of my friends who buy wine to drink immediately (or near future) are really learning from others who do the research. Most of your average consumers are going based on recommendations from a friend they think is knowledgable, or something they tried at a restaurant chosen for them by the somm.
great post. sorting through the sales pitches flooding my inbox consumes a greater part of my day.
Kind of late here, but definitely a really interesting topic, something that I have been thinking about. I’m 25 and didn’t really get into wine and alcohol until about 2-3 years and I now have a 100+ bottle “collection” (nothing probably compared to all of you), but I have slowly been introducing my friends to wines and whiskies. My friends are those that never really appreciated alcohol since they’re mostly used to copious amounts of beer at college kickbacks.
I made an Instagram account to follow as many CA wineries and breweries as possible, just to see, and I think that a lot of them are producing great content. But I think it lacks a certain…flair? for millennials to stay committed to watching hour long videos of tasting notes, or interviewers with winemakers. It’s very industry oriented content, and I think that creative content needs to be catchy to lure some more people our age into wines, etc.
Anyways, very interesting insight from all of you! Will definitely be following this thread!