State of the Wine World

 The current state of the wine biz as we enter a new year.

Who Are the Wine Buyers, Some Still Don't Get It

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that premium wine (generally considered wines costing over $20) is purchased by older, more affluent people. That is, middle-aged, maybe middle-management types. Premium wines are luxury goods. That's a nice way of saying most regular folk won't pay 50 bucks for a beverage.

It's not a Boomer thing, it's an age thing. People in their 40s and 50s are the sweet spot. I will admit that it's a little weird living in Wine Country because quality wine has become normalized, mostly because so many people work in the wine biz. Yeah, I've had $45 wine on grilled burger night. That doesn't seem strange in Sonoma County, though it might in Madison County.

I'm sorry wine influencers, who tend to be 30 years old plus-or-minus, but your friends aren't likely to be big wine collectors--yet. And to the winery marketing folks who keep trying to reach out to the younger crowd, why don't you know your audience?

Alternate Wines

There's increasing interest in low-or-no alcohol wines, natural wine, organic wine, and orange wine. Yeah, orange wine, it's weird. The low alcohol wines probably appeal to a range of ages; natural, organic, and orange to a younger crowd that is more experimental. 

Sparkling Wine

The sparkling wine market was changed by younger drinkers picking up on lower-priced bubbles like Italy's Prosecco. Interestingly, premium Champagne (avg $50) sales have also gone up. 

Pink Wine

Rosé wines hit a peak when you could find good ones for under $20. Their popularity has increased prices. We're seeing lots of pink wines going for over $30 and sparkling rosés at $50 or more.

Cans

There's increased interest in canned wine, along with canned craft beer and canned cocktails. Environmentally, cans make a lot of sense.

Premiumization

Assuming the economy doesn't tank in 2023 we'll see a decline in sales of cheap wines (under $10). We'll see increased sales, and increased prices, in super-premium wines (over $50). This trend has been going on for a while. What if the economy goes down? In the last recession, cheap wines, under $10, did well. Luxury wines chugged along. It was the mid-range wines, say $12 to $25, that suffered.