They were born after 1980, are called millennials and drink wine. And besides drinking wine, they are changing the wine industry. Or at least, some authorities in the sector claim they are. Mel Dick, vice president of the main wine distributor in the US, Southern Wine and Spirits of America, points at millennials as the main social group to satisfy in the coming years. And only in the US they are 77 million consumers. For David Trone, director of Total Wine and More, millennials are starting to influence decisions in the wineries: they all want to attract them.

The big question is: what wine does a millennial seek? This question is not easy to answer, but the sector has detected some general trends. A millennial tries to find basically the best, but prioritizing between quality and price. Besides, they like innovating and trying new experiences, immediately informing their friends, either if it is a positive or a negative experience. Adapted to the world of wine, this means that millennials essentially want good value for money wines, without much regard to varieties or origins.

Going a step further, they prefer young and fruity flavours and, besides quality and prize, they do appreciate them being easy to find and purchase. This aspect is essential for them. It must be noted that this generation communicate and, increasingly, buy using smartphones. Moreover, a millennial absolutely relies on their friends’ (or other people’s) opinions on social networks, discussion groups and blogs.

The process might be the following: they check their mobile and find out someone has uploaded a photo on Facebook drinking a glass of wine with a positive comment, then they search for the wine brand, access the shop online, choose… and buy. And all this happens while he is waiting for the metro. A behaviour the wine industry is paying close attention to.