Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/670021
1 4 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | M a y - J u n e 2 016 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m Wine Market Council's 2016 Consumer Research pre- sentation took place this past March in Yountville, and most stories we've seen about it revolve around its find- ings regarding millennials vs. baby boomers. The bot- tom line regarding that is WMC's research concluded that, while all millennials are now of drinking age and many are wine consumers, baby boomers who consider themselves "high frequency" drinkers (more than once per week) still purchase the majority of wine sold in the United States. And while that gap is closing and winer- ies are scrambling to gain millennials' attention (they tend to be a bit fickle regarding alcohol consumption and some are more interested in beer or spirits than wine), there were some other quite interesting facts presented that day. Let's take a look at those. First, let's talk about women. Jennifer Pagano, WMC's director of research and member services, pre- sented WMC's findings following a November 2015 survey of 1,202 drinking-age female wine consumers in the United States, administered by Illuminate Mar- ket Research & Planning of Seattle. Forty percent of respondents considered themselves high frequency wine drinkers, while the remaining 60% said they con- sume it only occasionally (once per week or less often). The majority of high-frequency consumers were millen- nials (39%), followed by baby boomers (37%), GenX (15%) and older (9%). Most of those (42%) worked full- time, with the remaining retired (20%), part-time (15%) or other. Most were married (56%) and had an income of between $50,000 and $100,000 (44%). Forty-seven percent of those not living alone buy most or all of the household's wine, yet 55% of all women surveyed said they're content to drink a glass even when alone. potential vectors for red blotch virus; results are expected within the year. The three-cornered alfalfa treehopper is a green, wedge-shaped insect with clear wings. The body, which is about one quarter-inch long, is higher and wider at the head and tapers toward the posterior. This insect gets its name from the hardened trian- gular (three cornered) area over the thoracic area. It has piercing-sucking mouthparts. Nymphs are gray- ish white and soft bodied, with a line of saw-toothed spines on their backs. All of them feed by inserting their mouthparts into stems and sucking out juices. Injury is also caused when adult female treehoppers insert their eggs into stems. Feeding and egg lay- ing can girdle stems, causing the portion of the plant above the girdle to turn red, purple or yellow. ATH is widely distributed in North America. According to Texas A&M Extension, it spends win- ter in the adult or egg stage. Eggs hatch and devel- op through five stages (instars) before becoming winged adults. There are three to four generations per year. However, the precise life cycle isn't well known. This information is critical to understand the peak time of transmission and infection and to develop effective control strategies. The ATH is known to feed on alfalfa and other legumes. "I suspect that drought conditions may drive ATH toward grapevines for feeding and sur- vival when other vegetation is dried," says Alan Wei, Ph.D., of plant pathology laboratory Agri-Analysis LLC in Davis, Calif. "This may explain why red blotch disease has been epidemic in recent years." More studies are needed to understand the phe- nology of this insect and to develop effective man- agement strategies. Some questions that remain to be answered include what the insect's distribu- tion and prevalence rate is in California vineyards and other major winegrowing regions of the United States as well as what growers should do to man- age ATH. "The discovery of transmission by the treehopper is very significant in understanding its epidemiol- ogy," says Zalom. "But since it's a kind of unusu- al vector, there's much to learn about its biology before any recommendations on its management can be established. "I've been getting a lot of questions about what to do," he continues, "and my recommendation is not to panic and especially don't start spraying for the insect until we learn more. Many vineyards that don't have an obvious virus source are at no risk, and even in vineyards with the virus present, our data indicate the spread is significant but not rapid. I'm confident our lab and others will be able to pro- vide management recommendations that will help reduce its spread." For other important updates on red blotch from other speakers, visit this link on YouTube: https:// www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK93eCG1nCqKF ZWFWuMqKPyAvU-Qk--B3. 40% 60% Source: WMC Female Wine Drinker Survey 2015 Female Survey Wine Drinkers by Wine Consumption Frequency High Frequency Wine Drinkers (drink wine more than once a week) Occasional Wine Drinkers (drink wine once a week or less often) Wine Market Council Reports on Consumer Wine Trends