Brian Baker CSW
Real Consumers in Real Time…Insights from the DTCWS Consumer Panel
Some insights from the recent Consumer Panel at the 2024 Direct-to-Consumer Wine Symposium presented by--and a fundraiser for--Free the Grapes. It was my privilege to again moderate the panel Real Consumers in Real Time: a group of five average wine consumers representing five generations Boomer, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z. The topics ranged from attitudes about wine, it role in their lives, consumption behavior, pre and post-Covid, online shopping, wine clubs and health issues surrounding wine.
Full disclosure: This should not be treated as objective research. It was a focus group of five, (albeit representing four generations). It was a fun discussion. The insights were interesting and in some cases, validated larger bodies of research about these cohort’s wine behavior and attitudes.
Background: All of the panelists stated that they consumed wine at least three times per week. Four were current members of wine clubs. (The two millennials were members of six wine clubs each.) All agreed that the purpose of wine in their lives is the social aspect that is inherent in wine. “ I don’t share spirits or beer with my friends, quipped Warren, the Gen X’er. Katie one of the millennials also noted the importance of the social aspect of wine club events. "You meet and make new friends who already share a common interest in wine,"
The importance of personalization was brought home when asked about preferred method of contact; and while Gen Z and one millennial said text, so did the Boomer. On the other hand, Email was preferred by the other millennial and Gen X. Reminds us all: Don’t assume! One-to-one personalization is the only way to get it right.
All agreed that the best wine to find out about a new winery was through referral from friends-- word of mouth. The single thing that attracted them to join a wine club was customer service. Several cited the importance of the way the winery made them feel--not just at events--but in a pinch, with no reservations—dropping by at the last minute.
Canned wine was heralded as the “solution to events where you can’t have glass” ( A PGA golf tournament was referenced). Box wine got high marks particularly from the Gen Z who said, “sometimes you just want one glass of wine”
Referral of friends was the most important reason for trying a new wine and discovering a new wine club-- across all generations. Scores and medals were disregarded by all—"not helpful but maybe you should congratulate the winery” said Katie-- one of our Millennials. Kevin the Boomer added an interesting twist when he said that medals were not important to him for wine but were in fact very important to him when buying a new bourbon. His reasoning: Medals may help me find something before everyone else does…(yep, I know that sounds a bit counter intuitive…)
Health concerns about wine were expressed by all panelists, except Kevin the Boomer. The other four all noted concerns for their liver and weight gain. Warren, our Gen X’er was concerned about sugar. Katie, the millennial was asked if her friends shared this concern. She answered that her friends recognized the health issues with wine but only spoke about them in joking manners: “Oh it’s okay…the liver regenerates anyway…”
All panelists agreed that “Sustainability” seems the minimum you can do if you are a wine grower. Warren, Gen X added that “sustainability was low hanging fruit…everyone can claim that… what else are you doing?
All were familiar with the term "Regenerative farming"
I asked the panel: How much should a bottle of daily drinking red wine cost?
· Gen Z and both Millennials $20
· Gen X: $35-40
· Boomer: $60
This tracks with many studies showing the correlation between consumers’ economic lifecycle and wine purchase.
Just for fun, we asked what the most expensive bottle was they had ever bought
· Millennial: $50
· Gen Z: $50
· Millennial: $150 (referenced she and her husband’s penchant for magnums)
· Gen X: $150
· Boomer: $900 (Scarecrow)
To conclude the session, I posed the following question “Here’s your chance to speak directly to the industry…what is one thing you want to tell them about their business?”
Warren, the Gen X'er said he loves stories about wine and its makers but noted that many stories seem to be the same. He encouraged the industry to do more to differentiate themselves from each other. Justin the Gen Z encouraged industry to open more Urban tasting rooms. "I'd go to four or five of them if they were in my downtown area before I'd drive to Napa again"
The other three panelists all coalesced around this thought: The best way a winery can keep its club members is customer service. "Don't forget us in good times" noted Kevin the boomer. "Remember your members--don't take us for granted." added Ariana the millennial, Katie also cited customer service “take care of the members you have”.
A fun session overall.
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