Young people, surprisingly, will save wine: Gen Z and Millennial spend more than Gen X and Boomer

“Irresponsible”, young people, as Achille Lauro defined them in his last song at Festival di Sanremo. Young people are surely fundamental also in wine market. To which, mainly in a moment such this, of great difficulty for consumption (and, “enlarging” a little bit the definition of “young people”, ed) they give hope. Because they raise wine glasses from the table to make them a status symbol, they are willing to spend for super premium labels, but without growing fond of brands, uncork in the company of others, and they don’t want to renounce to cocktails. This is the photo of American and Italian under 44 wine consumers taken by Observatory Uiv-Vinitaly, in the presentation of edition No. 57 of Vinitaly 2025, on scene at Veronafiere from April, 6th to 9th. Under the lens, Italian and American markets (together corresponding to 60% of the overall turnover of sales of Italian wine), and the youngest segments of the population, who, in a generalized context of consumption drop which saw the fourth consecutive year in a row in contraction in Italy, and the third consecutive year in a row in the Usa, wine has to be able to intercept and understand. “According to the analysis by Observatory Uiv-Vinitaly basing on Iwsr data, debunking the numerous common places about the relationship wine-young people, Millennial (aged between 28 and 44 years), and Gen Z (from legal drinking age up to 27 years), represent the “promised land” of a generational change as necessary as complicated, a territory which is largely out of the radars of Italian wine”, explains the study. Which “debunks great part of a common imaginary seeing new generations very far from wine, disinterested and immune to its evoking strength. None of this: under 44 spend more, and, actually, they are keeping up a premium market threatened by the reverse of Boomer (between 61 and 79 years old), and Gen X (45-60 years old)”.
In this framework, the bond “food and wine” remains important, but seems to loose centrality for American and Italian young wine lover. If it is true that “wine exalts food”, according to most over 44, those who recognize in this affirmation, descend under half among Millennials and Gen Z. On the down side, in Italy the share of Italian very young people seeing wine as a “fashion statement” is exactly the double (56%) compared to that of Boomers (28%), and also Millenials distance Gen X for 16 percentage points (45% against 29%). A relevant trend, for which Iwsr coined a new category, that of “Status Seekers”, who, even representing only 11% of wine habitual consumers, in the Usa, they make 24% of volume, and 35% of values generated by regular wine drinkers. According to data elaborated by Observatory Uiv-Vinitaly, about 31% of overall value of wine purchases in America is attributable to products in ultra premium range, carried out in 6 cases out of 10 by under 44 consumers. The situation is different in Italy, where high range wines are worth only 10% of purchases, but realized also here for about the half of young consumers. Both American and Italian young people, if compared to higher age ranges, declare to be less loyal to specific brands: the disloyal people are about one out of two among under 44 while they descend to a third, once overcame this age threshold. Sociality continues to represent a fundamental element in the wine experience, particularly for American young people, who, in 7 cases out of 10 increased their consumption for a higher socialization.
Millenials and Gen Z, still explains the study, demonstrate an irrefutable (but also intergenerational) passion for cocktails, but, looking to wine with an interest debunking numerous common places. First of all, it is not true that “wine doesn’t attract young people”. In Italy, the profile f wine consumers for age reflects loyally the registry distribution of population (legal drinking age) with under 44 at quota 35%, while, in the Usa, Millennials and Gen Z – representing only a third of the population – reach quota 47% among more mature wine consumers. Also compared to consumption frequency and quantity, the conviction seeing young people straighter and more likely to a desultory consumption is debunked. In both countries, the trend (high, about 80%) to reduce consumption to 2-3 times a month appears quite equally distributed among the different age ranges, and regarding quantity, both in the Usa and – with a minor difference margin – in Italy, the share of who drinks habitually two or more wine glasses is higher among young people than over 44.
“Then, it turns out that the conviction – still explains the study – that “consumption decreases because of young people is false”. In America, exactly mature consumers apply the handbrake. While, among under 44 young people are more those who increased consumption (31%) compared to those who decreased it (26%), in the more advanced age ranges those who increased wine consumption represent only 9%, and raise to 29% those who decreased the quantities. In Italy, the drop seems to be crosser and more intergenerational, and involves over a quarter of population (27%) in both age clusters. But, also here, exactly under 44 (14% of those who increased consumption, against 7% in the age range over 44) partly moderate drop.
And, overall, the so-called “Sober curiosity”, as a trend, prevails. “On both the squares, almost the half of non alcohol drinkers belong to generation Boomer, followed by Gen X (23% in the Usa, and 30% in Italy). Gen Z and Millennials represent overall only 3 non alcohol drinkers out of 10 in the Usa, and 2 out of 10 in Italy. Trend “Sober curious” inverts in the case of the so-called “dry” periods (of total abstinence from alcohol, ed), which, in the Usa, see under 44 in first line with a proportion of temporary abstinence brackets which, among the youngest (Gen Z). reaches 60% in the Usa, and 46% in Italy. The inclination of overs is lower with shares attesting at around 30% in the Usa, and at 25% in Italy.