THE WINE INDUSTRY'S NEW GUARD OF COLLECTORS

from PR%F the Magazine October 2022 issue

THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITS

Wine’s most dedicated collectors are a surprise.

By Yule Schmidt, Wine expert and COO of InVintory

What do the words “wine collector” bring to mind? Probably not a 26-year-old software developer who bikes to the office with a latte in hand. Yet some of the most enthusiastic collectors in the wine world fit precisely this mold: they’re young, hip, and super into wine. At InVintory, a wine collecting platform, we were taken aback to find a full third of our users are under 35

That statistic is consistent with what’s happening across the industry. According to Mintel analytics,

60 percent of Gen Z’ers list food and drink among their top five interests. That generation already holds $140 billion in spending power, and the oldest members of the demographic are only 24 years old. That number will only grow as that generation matures and establishes itself in the workforce.

But while this new guard is getting into wine, they’re doing so differently, melding a traditional appreciation for wine as a representation of a place with a modern openness to exploration. A study by Harris Group found that 72 percent of millennials would rather open their wallets to experiences than to material items. Wine is just such an experience. With one glass, wine lovers can travel the world, dig through history, and explore different cultures.

Especially over the last few years, while global travel was restricted, young drinkers have taken to transportive glasses to get their travel fix—not just to the classical regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Tuscany. In a bottle of salty Croatian white wine, they can catch the energy of the Dalmation Coast. With a crunchy, high-energy Beaujolais Nouveau, they can ring in the fall harvest. In a Lagrein, they are immersed in all the mystery of the alpine Alto Adige region — power, pleasant fruit, and wild value (despite only 1,000 acres planted worldwide, bottles of this rare varietal can still be snagged for under $50). Wine is such a magical medium to explore new places and understand a culture, even when drinking from afar. These globe-trotting tendencies are, in part, picked up by necessity: First Growth Bordeaux, Grand Cru Burgundy, and top Barolos aren’t in the budget for most young consumers (after all, they have avocado toasts to buy). While older generations may stick to noble grapes and lauded regions, younger drinkers are looking to lesser-known varietals and exploring different areas that offer more bang for one’s buck. Hungary, South Africa, Pfalz, and the Douro—places making wines that offer great value and are just as steeped in tradition and history as well-known blue chip bottles. Still, the wine industry is worried about the new guard. They’re demanding, conscientious, and have myriad interests with which wine must compete. Reports across the industry have noted that wine sales have lagged over the last few years. In 2021, wine sales declined 2 percent, according to Silicon Valley Bank. Executive vice president Rob McMillan warned that sales of American

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wine could plummet by 20 percent if this trend remains on the current trajectory. But the report also acknowledged that sales of bottles under $9 are shrinking. Sales of wine priced above $15 are higher than ever. People may be drinking less, but they’re drinking better quality. As per-bottle spending increases, they’re becoming more discerning and no longer content with bulk-produced wines made with Mega Purple color and artificial oak extract. According to the Evolution of Retail report from data platform Euclid, 52 percent of millennials feel that brands must align with their values. That often means purchasing from brands that make an impact or small-scale producers that share similar sentiments of social responsibility. Maybe that’s a Savigny producer working to restore the soil with nutrients after years of large-scale farming or a California producer who promotes biodiversity in the fields and pays workers a living wage. Gens Y and Z tend to ask questions like how it is grown, where it is made, and how did it get here. Younger consumers also don’t drink like older generations. In the 70s and before, people generally drank one of three things: wine, martinis, Scotch on the rocks, or a similar sipping spirit. Neither craft beer nor cocktails had yet become popular. How many times did Don Draper from Mad Men reach for a Negroni? In the last 20 years, the craft beer industry has exploded, and cocktails abound. Today’s drinkers aren’t just sticking to wine; they’re starting their meal with a spritz, moving into wine during dinner, and maybe ending their night with an Amaro. Not only have tastes evolved, but the new guard has also changed how they communicate about wine, get information, and buy. Spoiler alert: it’s all happening online.

While collectors previously picked bottles based on publications and scores, the younger generations are digitally native. To find new bottles, they’re browsing through Instagram or maybe even trending TikToks, influencers with whose palates they align relying on their recommendations to stock their wine racks.

Their preferred shopping experience has also changed. Traditionally, purchasing a bottle meant walking into a store and standing in front of an intimidating wall of bottles. Consumers should still find a local shop with knowledgeable staff, but online shopping, be it from wine clubs, digital bottle shops, or directto-consumer shipping from wineries, is a nice complement for the times one wants to explore alone. Listings are decked with tasting notes,

stories, and other things that make it easier to find the perfect bottle. While it may sound like Gens Y and Z have forged an entirely new vinous path, lined with funky bottles and iPhones, a continuous thread ties them back to the generations that came before: the importance of enjoying wine with other people. The idea that wine is better shared is perhaps the most important thing to understand about wine, and experience-driven younger consumers have latched onto this ethos. They get that wine is less about the scores and labels than about the people they are drinking with and about the memories they are creating. They may post about it online, but not with bottle shots and florid tasting notes. Instead, they share scenes from “Wine Wednesdays” with co-workers or reels of a friend sabering a Champagne bottle at a backyard barbecue. One of the challenges we constantly discuss at InVintory is how to do justice to the real-life, tangible elements of wine in a digital space. How do we elevate your collection from an assortment of dusty bottles to a living repertoire of your life’s memories?

That question applies to wine drinkers of all ages, and our younger collectors often inspire InVintory in devising solutions. We use technology to take the work out of tracking bottles and experiences, so that collectors can focus on enjoying them with others (the part that matters), just as young aficionados use digital means to enhance their wine adventures, whether by sourcing obscure bottles online or sharing memories on social media. Old school wine collectors prioritizing labels and market values aren’t going anywhere. Still, today’s new wine consumers are young, enthusiastic, and, perhaps unintentionally, have been at the vanguard of driving the wine world back to a more authentic appreciation of wine as a conduit of place and experience. InVintory is available on iOS and the web. Prestige is priced at $9.99 per month or $99 annually.

PR%F readers can take advantage of a 50 percent discount on Prestige by signing up on the web with the code PROOF50.

For more information, visit invintory.com and @ invintory on social media.

Yule Schmidt is a wine expert and current COO of InVintory, a novel wine platform that helps collectors track bottles with ease and bring their wine experiences to life.