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consuming about the same amount of beer and spirits as their older cohorts. Perhaps the bigger question isn't why younger Millennials aren't that into wine, but why older Millenni- als are. "Everybody wants to know that," Gillespie said. LOVE VS. LIKE Artezin winemaker Randle John- son discovered the inquisitive side of the Millennial generation last year when he manned a booth at Winelands, a wine-tasting tent set up at the Outside Lands youth-ori- ented rock concert in San Francis- co's Golden Gate Park. Another difference is that the older group is more likely to attend live wine events while the younger favor online wine experiences. One thing that wineries are doing right in marketing to Millennials is video. "We'd much rather watch the winemaker and see the vine- Survey Shows Industry Optimism After two deeply challenging years, wine industry leaders are relatively bullish about the future, a survey shows. But they're keeping a wary eye on potential new men- aces, including unusual weather and a possible grape shortage. "On the one hand, people are Randle Johnson of Artezin winery says Millennials have a particular interest in "weirdo" varieties. "The whole event was a real eye-opener for me," Johnson said. "I'm in charge of this heirloom, heritage varietal brand. I was just blown away at how interested they were in weirdo varietals." Case in point: Millennials were not only willing to try charbono, they were willing to pay about $5 for a taste; then they would come back and buy a glass for $10. Jess Altieri, founder and CEO of WineChannelTV Network, is a cer- tified sommelier and a member of the Millennial generation. She sees older Millennials as moving from "just liking the wine to loving the wine," while younger Millennials are moving into the "like" camp. WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM feeling better because demand at all price-points has continued to grow, although slower at higher price-points," said UC Davis pro- fessor Robert Smiley, who annu- ally takes the temperature of the industry with his survey of wine professionals. On the other hand, following a short crop in 2010 and expectations that the 2011 harvest will also prove to be light, there are concerns about keeping up produc- tion volumes. In terms of grape prices, 2011 is turning out to be better than expected, said David Beckstoffer, president of Beckstoffer Vineyards in Napa Valley and one of the sur- vey respondents. "Really, from a grower's perspective, 2011 has been very good just looking at pric- ing of grapes. We're going from a few years ago of having a real over- supply of grapes where prices were depressed and we were having trouble writing contracts." But the unusual weather that made 2011 so challenging in the vineyard means growers will have less to sell and wineries may be struggling to keep up volume. Meanwhile, new plantings have been stalled by several factors, including the recession, reluctance on the part of banks to lend money, and leftover concerns from the grape glut of 2003-2004. yards," said Altieri. "Video is the key to getting people interested." Where wineries could improve is in the use of social media. They may be afraid of saying something that might offend, but they need to get on Facebook and Twitter, Altieri said. "You've got to have no fear." For David Beckstoffer of Beckstoffer Vineyards, 2011 was a good year for grape prices. "I think that means a couple of things," Smiley said. "The dis- counts we've seen, and that people have gotten used to, are going to be reduced. And it's going to be problematic for the popular wines to meet all demand just because of grape supply." Smiley, professor emeritus and director of wine at the UC Davis Graduate School of Manage- ment, led two surveys. One asked 30 prominent executives to answer questions dealing with issues such as supply, discounting and fore- casts. The other was an Internet survey aimed at 130 professionals that focused on industry trends. In the smaller survey, the hottest issues cited for the next five years included: Retailer and distributor consoli- dation. This is expected to make things tougher on wineries, but some are wondering if investor Warren Buffett, who has bought into the wine and spirits distribution market, will provide a new option. JAN - FEB 2012 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT 13