Wine Consumption Is Down As Millennials Seek Other Spirits
The Red Wine & Chocolate weekend is about to kick off the 2020 promotional events season for the Yakima Valley's wine industry. In general, the future looks bright with a headline in the Seattle Times from a couple years ago saying that "wine production has doubled in Washington State in the past decade and is likely to do it again in the next."
That's exciting news but if it happens it won't be because of the nation's millennials.
Newser on-line reports millennials are drinking less wine than older generations, causing wine consumption to fall in the U.S. last year for the first time since 1994.
It wasn't a huge drop, according to the Wall Street Journal, it fell 0.9%. Analysts point to several reasons, including millenials' "limited financial capacity, a preference for premium spirits and craft beers, delayed careers, negative health messaging regarding alcohol and the legalization of cannabis."
Sales of wine by volume, however, climbed 1.1% last year from 2018 because cheaper bottles of $10 or less are losing popularity and sales of more expensive bottles are on the rise.
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