Why We're Wild About Wine

This week, the 2014 annual Silicon Valley Bank State of the Wine Industry Report is due out. Through this survey of approximately 600 wineries, the report gives a prediction of wine sales and growth this year. There are several factors that affect wine sales, from global economies to production costs to grape planting and harvesting. Although the volume of beer consumed in the U.S. (and the world) outnumbers that of wine, beer sales are stagnant or slipping in some regions (including, Germany!) while wine continues to grow in popularity. What gives? Why did we shift our tastes?

According to the current report, wine consumption began to lag in 1987 as anti-alcohol messages began to hit consumers. Then in 1994, after a 60 Minutes segment cited findings from French scientist Serge Renaud that linked wine consumption to lower risk of coronary heart disease, wine sales increased. This was a critical tipping point in the branding of wine. And in particular, red wine. Suddenly, there was seemingly a health benefit to wine. Indeed, since 1994 wine consumption has increased every year to date. Today, the U.S. is now the largest market for wine consumption. Sorry, France and Italy.


Coupled with the new research, which was racking up headlines over the years, wine also fed into our collective new infatuation with diversifying our traditional tastes. As we explored more gourmet fare and challenged our palates, wine seemed to fit better with meals and during networking receptions rather than the traditional cocktail or cold beer. Through this journey toward today's "foodie" culture, wine was the perfect co-pilot, complete with new brands, players, packaging and marketing opportunities. This all kept wine, well, interesting. Likewise, shifts in brand positioning helped other alcoholic beverage markets gain traction with consumers when you also consider the sales growth of craft beer and premium spirits.

Courteney Cox holds her "Big Joe"
wine glass on the TV sitcom
Cougar Town

Additionally, one cannot ignore the buying and decision-making power of women. Women make up more than half of the U.S.'s core wine drinkers today. And a cursory glance at television shows alone reveals how networks today are far more comfortable depicting this representation than in recent memory: Olivia Pope (portrayed by Kerry Washington on Scandal) rarely makes it through an episode without her nightly glass of red wine; wine is part of the cultural fabric (and marketing) on the sitcom Cougar Town; and actress Swoosie Kurtz, as Joyce Flynn, is most often found with a wine glass in hand on the popular comedy Mike & Molly. But it's not just U.S. women that prefer wine. A study by Vinexpo, host to one of the world's largest wine trade fairs, found that women in Asia opt for wine as well. Consider that wine is viewed as more healthful and elegant than most other alcoholic beverages and it's easy to conclude why many women prefer wine.

For the wine industry, the last ten years have been nearly a perfect storm in brand positioning: health claims that benefit your product, major shifts in consumer tastes that are aligned with your product and a key demographic that finds your product more attractive than your competitors. And the wine industry creatively leveraged these factors by keeping its product relevant and fresh.

As the lyrics to UB40's hit single Red Red Wine state:

     Red red wine you make me feel so grand
     I feel a million dollars when you're just in my hand.

Well, now you know why...


--Tom Quash