One of the dilemmas in the world of wine is how to capture the younger audience, a very particular market segment due to low spending power and lack of knowledge about wine. Each winery attempts to overcome this barrier in a different way, with varying degrees of success.

SWG and Carrefour collaborated on the study “Vintage 2.0 – wine for digital natives” to understand how young people view the wine industry. Survey participants are divided into two generations: Millennials (born between 1986 and 1996) and Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012).

The study was presented at Palazzo Bovara during the Milan Wine Week.

According to the study, wine is important to both generations: for Millennials it outperforms other alcoholic beverages (88%), while for Gen Z it is second only to beer, but by a significant margin (60%). However, according to the research, it is a more “distracted” consumption: in fact, Gen Z is less aware of their purchasing choices because they are not well informed. Wine maintains its prestige status among young people, which is why 60% of Gen Z and 67% of Millennials want to consume it with awareness and buy it with care.

According to these statistics, young people love wine but feel it is too distant. This is the fault of communication, which is too institutionalized, elevated and geared toward older generations.

“To convey a message with the values of wine but in a more understandable way is now a must. We are convinced that fresher communication, combined with in-depth study of the most sensitive issues, are fundamental”: was the conclusion of Lorenzo Cafissi, head of Wine Carrefour Italy.

But what values should they convey? Young people give more importance to organoleptic characteristics, the territory of origin of the wine and the presence of the indication of origin. The notoriety of the producing company and the number of bottles produced are in last place. The use of zero-kilometer raw materials, as always, is crucial, as is the sustainability of the production process.

Wine quality is no longer enough to ensure a successful product: effective communication involving multiple targets has become an essential ingredient in the recipe for a successful wine. If it used to be optional, updating the way you communicate your product now seems to be mandatory.

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