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According to a study by the research company Wine Market Council (WMC), the wine market in the USA is on the verge of an upswing. WMC has been analysing the consumer behaviour of Americans by generation since 1997. The new study shows that so-called millennials aged between 28 and 43 are consuming more wine again after a phase of experimenting with other alcoholic beverages. They do this at least once a week and therefore even more regularly than older generations, who were previously considered the main target group for wine. At 65.80 US dollars, they also spend more per bottle than the "baby boomers" (55 to 70 years old), who spend an average of 36.67 dollars on wine for special occasions.
These figures are confirmed by several US wineries, which report good direct sales. It is important to appeal to a younger and more diverse group of people. David Parker, owner and managing director of fine wine merchant Benchmark Wine, sees a "return to pre-pandemic sales to restaurants and top wine shops. Sales to award-winning restaurants are rising to historic highs. February was particularly strong in this respect. And prices for rare wines on the secondary market, which had been weakening since March 2022, began to rise again in early 2024. This is another great sign that demand for fine wine is returning."
The reason for the slump in demand was that in the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, consumers "wildly bought up everything they were offered. So they didn't buy anything in 2022 and 2023."
(al / source: wine-searcher)