Millennials are sipping wine more than any other age group and their consumption is expected to increase, winemakers and marketers hope, as the group continues to settle into a vino-infused lifestyle.
Aged 21 to 38, millennials consumed 159.6 million cases of wine in 2015, or 42 percent of all wine in the United States last year, according to a
Wine Market Council study reported on by
Wine Spectator.
The study showed an overall increase in high-frequency wine drinkers from 2005 to 2010, from 7.9 percent to 13.9 percent, boosted by millennials who accounted for a decline in occasional wine drinkers from 26.2 percent to 20.3 percent.
According to the study, 40 percent more millennials drink beer, wine and spirits at least several times a year than the overall adult population. Only four percent of millennials drink only wine several times a year or more.
The Wine Spectator noted that older millennials – 30 to 38 years old – are more "confident" in their taste in wine.
The study noted that women now account for 57 percent of wine volume in the United States, and for young millennial females, ages 21 to 24, organic or sustainably-produced products are important in making wine purchasing decisions.
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