The Wine Market Council recently surveyed over a thousand adult wine drinkers in the United States and announced findings that can help any winery fine tune its email marketing segmentation processes to maximize results.

Generation Y Wine Consumption Is up by Almost Half in 5 Years
The survey found that the group 65 years of age and older contains the highest proportion of individuals who drink wine daily at 12%. Although this is a highly significant market it is an essentially static one that does not show considerable growth in the survey. The expansion in demand can be found most notably in the Generation X-ers (born from the 1960s to about 1980) and legal drinking aged Generation Y-ers (born from about 1980 to the early 2000s). The X-ers are drinking 35% more wine than just five years ago, and the Y-ers are choosing wine to an even greater extent: up fully 42% in five years. Generation Y contains 16 million Americans who have yet to reach the age of 21, a potential sign that the market growth in this segment will continue to blossom.

Younger Males Prefer Screw Caps, Older Females Want Cork
Age categories also determine preferences for screw caps. Generation Y-ers are termed “more likely” to buy a screw capped wine, while the much older Baby Boomers (born post-WWII to the early 1960s) are “less likely” to choose screw caps. Across all age groups, women were more amenable to screw caps than men.

Older Drinkers Prefer Classics, while the Younger Set Chooses Trendy Wines
The red varietals showing the greatest growth in demand in the last five years include Pinot Noir, Merlot, Zinfandel and Malbec while the demand for Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay is burgeoning in the white category. The younger Generations X and Y are especially tuned in to the latest, hippest and most esoteric wines while the Baby Boomers tend to opt for classic blue chip wines such as Bordeaux and Cabs.

Unlike Higher Priced Types, Table Wines Have Thrived through Recession
U.S. per capita consumption of wine is nearly three times what it was in 1970 and almost double 1990 levels at 3.04 gallons per person. 276 million cases of table wine were sold in 2010 (up from 205 million in 2000) demonstrating that there is an ever growing appeal for lower price point products. The survey found that the primary reasons for the growth in the table wine segment was the adoption of wine drinking by the Generation Y-ers in early adulthood; the widespread acceptance of wine consumption in moderation as compatible with healthier lifestyles; and the improving availability of quality table wines at affordable price levels.

These survey results provide a treasure trove of information for any winery’s email marketing newsletter segmentation efforts. By applying it to your basic demographic data, you will be able to accurately target your offerings to the specific age and gender of your subscribers. If you are selling a Napa Cabernet you can promote it exclusively to your older customers while offering your more hip and voguish Grüner Veltliners to the younger set. That valuable demographic information can also guide you in every aspect of your email marketing segmentation from matching price range to age group, and screw caps to gender. Segmenting your email subscription list according to the latest findings will help get those cases off your loading dock and into the hands of appreciative wine drinkers!