Millennials Are Drinking a Whole Lot of Wine

We may already be aware that millennials like to drink wine (big-name beers, not so much), but we may not have grasped just how much vino the young’uns are guzzling.

Now we know: a whole lot.

In 2015 alone, American millennials (in this case defined as those 21 to 38 years old) glugged through — or, more charitably, delicately sipped — 159.6 million cases of wine, according to new statistics on wine consumption unveiled by the Wine Market Council and cited by Wine Spectator. Figuring there are about 79 million millennials (estimates vary a bit), that’s more than two cases of wine per person. It’s also more wine consumption than any other generation. (Sorry, baby boomers and Gen Xers.) In fact, nearly half — 42 percent — of all wine consumed in the nation in 2015 was drunk by millennials.

A few other interesting takeaways from the study about millennials and wine, per Wine Spectator:

Drinking Regularly:
 Ninety percent of the wine consumed in America is consumed by those who drink wine a few times a week, aka “high-frequency” drinkers. And about 30 percent of those in that category were millennials, according to the Wine Market Council, while 20 percent were Gen Xers and 38 percent were baby boomers.

Bigger Bucks for a Better Bottle: Seventeen percent of millennial wine consumers surveyed by the Council said they shelled out more than $20 for a bottle of wine in the past month, while only 5 percent of baby boomers said they had done so.

Spice of Life and All: The millennials go for variety when it comes to the wines they consume — wines of different styles and from different regions — according to the Wine Market Council. “It’s not an exaggeration to say the millennial American consumer has the most-varied set of tastes of any wine drinker in history,” Wine Spectator maintains.

Wine, Women and Wine: In 2015, women accounted for two-thirds of high-frequency wine drinkers under the age of 30. Millennial women also spend more money on wine than millennial men do, and they’re more deeply into wine (more apt to collect it, for instance) than older women.

Social-Media-Savvy Sippers: More than 50 percent of millennial wine drinkers regularly share their experiences on Facebook, and more than a third of them take to YouTube, Twitter or Instagram to post about wine. And sharing info is a two-way street, with more than half of all millennial wine consumers saying they believe wine reviews are either “extremely” or “very” important.

Next Up

This Gadget Can Chill a Whole Bottle of Wine in Just 15 Minutes

Because is there anything worse than warm white wine?

Amy Poehler Has a Lot to Say About Wine

And of course it’s all funny.

Coffee Breaks in Space Are Getting a Whole Lot Better

European cafe culture has spread across the globe — and now it’s about to travel beyond it. The International Space Station is getting its own coffee bar.

Millennials Are Big on Cocktails and Wine, but Beer Not So Much

Millennials are increasingly turning to wine and spirits and turning their backs on beer, and sparking fear at big beer companies, according to a report.

Why Trader Joe’s May Be a Whole Lot Better for Your Home's Value Than Whole Foods

Homes near Trader Joe’s tend to appreciate considerably more, on average, than those near Whole Foods, according to a new analysis.

On TV

What's New