Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/705606
2 4 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | J u l y - A u g 2 016 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m if you look at the series of charts going back to 2000, you see the march of time. In 2000, millennials were only 6% of all wine drinkers." Today, the WMC puts millennials at 36% of the wine drinking popula- tion in the United States. "I guess that's progress," says McMillan. At least they issued a press release. People inside the business are fairly aware of the problems with the findings, but for the outside world, once something is published in the digital space, it's out there. You can't really retract it." McMillan is quick to admit that wine consumption figures aren't easy to track. "Information in this business is difficult to come by because it's a very fragmented business," he explains. McMil- lan's own bank tracks sales reports from wineries. A recent tasting room survey included reports from about 1,200 of 9,000 total winer- ies nationwide — a very impressive response rate. McMillan acknowl- edges that many wineries sell wine at higher price points than millen- nials usually spend, but his bank's findings put millennial total con- sumption at around 16%. Even if that skews low, as McMillan admits it well might, it's still more in line with other data putting millennial consumption close to 20% of total wine sold in the United States. MILLENNIAL MADNESS It isn't just the wine press that salivates over these millennial con- sumption reports. "It's all retail," says McMillan. Anyone who pro- duces anything wants to hear that there's a vast new audience for its wares. "If you look across all kinds of products, everyone's always look- ing at the next big space. And millen- nials are the next big up-and-coming generation. If you're selling some- thing that's inexpensive, or elec- tronic, like an iPhone, that's probably something you really care about. "As a writer, it's pretty boring to say, 'Nothing is changing.' If you released a finding titled, 'Boom- ers are still the dominant cohort,' it isn't going to get picked up by the press. That's what the WMC was attempting to do, I think. I under- stand that. I do the same thing," says McMillan. "I release an annual State of the Industry report, and I'm always looking for something that's interesting for a headline, because you want people to look at it. When it comes to millennials, they will be the dominant consumer at a point. But for the benefit of people using the information, you have to get the facts and timing at least close." What drives McMillan nuts is that, with so much attention lav- ished on the inevitable and eventual rise of millennial consumers, anoth- er cohort, Generation X, is largely being ignored — despite the fact that the 35-to-55 age group has far more disposable cash and a taste for higher-priced American wine. "Though a smaller cohort, [Gen Xers] tend to be gainfully employed. Millennials coming behind them are at a disadvantage, partly because of the great recession and partly Silicon Valley Bank's Rob McMillan feels Generation X is largely being ignored by wine marketers. MARKET WATCH TIM TEICHGRAEBER