In “WineDirect: Supply Chain Management in the U.S. Wine Industry,” I was surprised to learn that 90% of wine sold in the United States came with an average price tag of less than $10 per bottle. I associate wine consumption to the upper echelons of society, yet US consumers' behavior towards the category are clearly shifting. A 2013 Gallup survey shows that "beer has declined as the preferred beverage of U.S. drinkers, shrinking its advantage over wine from 20 percentage points in 1992 to one point today."
According to this survey, millennials (ages 18-29) are increasingly switching to wine from beer with a 10% increase in wine consumption from 1992-1994 to 2012-2013.
A big answer to this consumer shift is women. As countries become more developed, women are entering the workforce and feel alienated by the beer industry. They also own the share of wallet and are shifting household purchase behavior to wine off-trade. In this same survey, Gallup found that "Among women, 52% say they drink wine most often, while 24% say liquor and 20% beer." Women are more likely to be aware of the ABV to calorie ratio - with wine, consumers can get drunk at a lower health cost than beer. They are also budget conscious and aware that wine is better bang for your buck.
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