How Younger Consumers Are Changing the Wine Industry

Young people are drying up the wine industry. Young people are refining the wine industry. There are arguments in both ways. But a new Wine Enthusiast article makes the point that it is the latter. Too many people are blaming younger Americans for not drinking wine as much as older generations, the article lays out.

“A powerful cohort of young oenophiles are, arguably, saving it (the wine industry),” the article stated. (Note: oenophiles are wine connoisseurs, in case you aren’t familiar with the term.)

For some millennials, wine is one glass pleasure and one glass profit, at least according to Brian Ward, Winston Art Group’s Director of Wine & Spirits. “Millennials are increasingly interested in the alternative asset space,” Ward told Wine Enthusiast.  

For the past two years, Ward has served as Principal for Cask100, the $20 million wine and whiskey investment fund under the Artory/Winston portfolio of funds.

Ward contends that not only is the generation roughly born in the 1980s and 90s interested in investing in wine, but it is also consuming wine. However, that consumption may be different than older generations. “They’re also buying fine wines to drink,” Ward told Wine Enthusiast. “They’re overall drinking less wine but better wine than other generations.”

A Wine Menu for Millennials  

Connor McMahon - who co-founded Fulldraw Vineyard in Paso Robles, California, with his wife, Rebecca -- told American Farmland Owner last month that he travels the country introducing wine to younger consumers. Part of his sales pitch is that his family’s vineyard – while not officially certified as organic – commits to organic practices, which he believes will connect with some millennials who prioritize those methods.

“We’re not using commercial pesticide, herbicides,” McMahon said. “Once the harvest is over, we’ll get the ground ready, and we plant an organic cover crop.”

Sheep then step in. “We actually bring in about a thousand sheep to eat down that cover crop in the spring. So, not only are they eating it down, you're cutting down on your emissions and your tractor passes.”

McMahon added, “Also, the biggest thing is they're pooping in the vineyard. And they're bringing that compost back in made it naturally. Their hooves are pounding it back into the soil.”

The efforts, McMahon said, can transform a property. “You see different bug life, animal life. And it just is in our mind…and the way we like to handle it…better ecosystem, and also a nice area for us to raise our children and not be too scared about what we're putting in our bodies.”

RELATED: Watch or listen to Connor McMahan share on the American Farmland Owner Podcast what inspired the name of Fulldraw Vineyard, what convinced him to leave rural Iowa for an emerging wine region in California, and what he does on the road to connect with Millennials who may not have much experience drinking wine.