THE TREND

According to the latest report from Silicon Valley Bank, ‘State of the Wine Industry Report 2023‘, the wine industry is facing a number of challenges, including a decrease in overall consumption and an increase in competition from alternative drinks such as beer, spirits and hard seltzers. The report also notes that the industry is facing a significant shift in consumer demographics, with the millennial and Gen Z consumer cohorts becoming increasingly important segments. These consumers have different tastes and preferences than previous generations, and they are more likely to opt for lower alcohol alternatives and various drinks other than wine.

One key takeaway from the report is that consumers older than 60 are the only growth segment. Consumers younger than 60 have a lower share of wine consumption compared to what they did in 2007. The report also highlights that the premiumization trend is slowing. While older consumers are paying more for premium wine, younger buyers are increasingly less engaged with the wine category.

Another important trend is that more consumers are abstaining from wine. 35% of 21-29-year-old consumers drink alcohol, but not wine. That number drops 7 percentage points to 28% for individuals 50-59 years old. Of those consumers, two percentage points moved to being at least marginal wine consumers. Meanwhile, five percent are now abstaining from drinking alcohol.

PIVOT POINT

In light of these challenges, it’s important for wineries to pivot and innovate with targeted new products. Sticking to current strategies has clearly not worked. It’s a second consecutive year of negative growth. After years of declining growth, sales volume could stabilize, but swift action is required to turn the tide. These trends are making it increasingly important for wineries to understand and cater to the needs of their target market, in order to stay competitive and continue to grow their business.

By tapping consumer sensory data, wineries can better understand and cater to the needs of the millennial and Gen Z consumer cohorts, and take effective action to adapt to the changing market and consumer trends.

This type of data, traditionally not part of a winery’s typical arsenal, can provide the wine producer with valuable insight into consumer preferences and tastes, which can help their teams make better business and product decisions.

For example, sensory data on consumer preferences for specific types of wine, such as those that are lower in alcohol content or residual sugar, the hard seltzer or fizzy category, or products made with organic grapes, can help wineries identify product development opportunities to enter new growth markets.

Additionally, data on how consumers perceive the taste, aroma, and appearance of different wines can help wineries optimize products and make them more appealing to these consumers. This can help wineries create targeted marketing campaigns, and develop more tailored products.

RESOURCING FOR A NEW NORMAL

Sales reports offer familiar data that wineries use effectively for many decisions. Consumer sensory data however are a new element. Not a replacement, but a critical addition to the decision making process. Data that enables winery professionals to be more pre-emptive than reactive, and gain access to deeper insight when searching for answers.

While several wineries have begun to successfully deploy sensory data, many still have not and could be left behind as market dynamics advance and early adopters get ahead.

Making effective use of sensory data however requires:

i) emphasis on its importance, by upper management;

ii) adequate funding; and,

iii) developing internal skillsets or recruit to ensure the use of the data is optimized.

Over the past three years, we have observed a healthy transition at wineries we work with. More conversations now include consumer palate discovery. Sensory data access and training are part of a new normal, recruits are more and more experienced in the area of consumer research, and annual budgets are adequately allocated to give marketing, innovation and winemaking teams access to sensory data.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Younger consumer cohorts is where the long opportunity is. Innovating along their preferences requires new thinking, palate discovery and analysis tools. By staying on top of evolving consumer trends, wineries can make more informed decisions about product development, marketing, and business strategy. This can help producers to stay competitive and continue to grow in an ever-challenging market.

How Quini Developers Used Dash To Create The Wine Industry’s Most Advanced Actionable Analytics Dashboard Environment for Wineries

Welcome to our latest blog post!

We are excited to share a new white paper written by Quini’s tech and data team, Anton Bobanov (Lead Data Analyst), Prashant Gucchait (Lead Developer), and Martin Ye (Software Programmer). The white paper, titled “Pushing The Envelope: How Quini Developers Used Dash To Create The Wine Industry’s Most Advanced Actionable Analytics Dashboard Environment for Wineries,” details the process our team went through to develop a new, more advanced and efficient dashboard for the wine industry.

In the white paper, our team discusses the challenges they faced with the previous system, including difficulties with data access and performance, and the limitations of statistical tools and styling options. They also outline the key requirements for the new platform, including the need for a single product to serve different purposes, fast and good connectivity with MongoDB, and the ability to integrate statistical and machine learning tools.

After careful evaluation, our team decided to use the Python/Dash/Plotly stack to build the new platform. They detail the steps they took to build the prototype, including the creation of a single dashboard connected to Quini data, the development of a multi-page data app, and the integration of statistical and machine learning tools.

We invite you to read the full white paper by clicking on this link. We hope you find the information and insights shared by our tech team valuable and informative.

Thank you for reading.

The personal, subjective taste and opinion of the end consumer is ultimate truth when it comes to wine. It is they who vote at the store, with their wallets.

Here are the top three wines tasted and rated on Quini by regular, frequent wine buyers during 2022. Ratings were done as part of Quini enterprise and winery client sensory data requirements, on the Quini wine tasting and rating platform, at guided tastings.

The list includes wines that were tasted blind and some non blind, in Dallas and New York, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Boston and Vancouver.

For every wine included in this year’s top three, a minimum of 25-50 ratings were required, with many of the wines with 100-200 or more ratings.

We hope you find some surprises, new wines to try, and perhaps, if you are a winery, celebrate if your wine is among the top three. With consumers, it is quite the feat to hit such high marks on Quini.

WHITE WINES

WHITES OVERALL

1. Chronos Brut VQA. View
2. O’Neill Harken Chardonnay 2020. View
3. Rodney Strong Chardonnay 2019. View

CHARDONNAY

1. O’Neill Harken Chardonnay 2020. View
2. Rodney Strong Chardonnay 2019. View
3. Bread and Butter Chardonnay 2019. View

PINOT GRIS

1. Gray Monk Pinot Gris 2021 VQA. View
2. Haywire Organic Pinot Gris 2021 VQA. View
3. Dirty Laundry Pinot Gris 2021 VQA. View

SAUVIGNON BLANC

1. Brancott Sauvignon Blanc 2021. View
2. Brancott Flight Song Sauvignon Blanc 2021. View
3. Stoneleigh Canada Sauvignon Blanc 2021. View

WHITE BLEND

1. Grow Wild Enchanting White 2020 VQA. View
2. Diabolica Devilishly Delicious White 2020 VQA. View
3. Dirty Laundry Hush White 2021 VQA. View

RED WINES

REDS OVERALL

1. Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon 2018. View
2. J Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon 2018. View
3. Joel Gott 815 Cabernet Sauvignon 2019. View

CABERNET SAUVIGNON

1. Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon 2018. View
2. J Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon 2018. View
3. Joel Gott 815 Cabernet Sauvignon 2019. View

PINOT NOIR

1. Meiomi Pinot Noir 2020. View
2. Juggernaut Pinot Noir 2019. View
3. Gunpowder Pinot Noir Alderbanks Vineyard 2018. View

RED BLENDS

1. Bogle Essential Red 2019. View
2. Rabble Red Blend 2018. View
3. Apothic Red 2020. View

ROSE WINES

ROSE OVERALL

1. Dirty Laundry Hush Rose 2021. View
2. Evolve Pink Effervescence NV VQA. View
3. Evolve Rose 2020 VQA. View

ROSE

1. Dirty Laundry Hush Rose 2021. View
2. Evolve Rose 2020 VQA. View
3. Gray Monk Rose 2021 VQA. View

SPARKLING WINES

1. Chronos Brut VQA. View
2. Evolve Pink Effervescence NV VQA. View
3. Dirty Laundry Hush Sparkling Rose 2021 VQA. View

To include your wines in upcoming consumer sensory wine tastings in your key markets, please contact us at sales@quiniwine.com.

Quini Sensory Study of Millennial Consumers and the Relationship Between Residual Sugar Content, Sweetness Impression and Taste Appeal

December 2022

Authored By:

Anton Bobanov – Lead Data Scientist
Roger Noujeim – Chief Executive Officer

BACKGROUND

This study looks to answer a vexing, long standing question in the wine industry. Specifically whether younger consumers gravitated towards sweeter wines, over time.

To answer the question, we analyzed millennial consumer sensory tasting data in Quini covering 180 wines that were tasted and rated using the Quini wine tasting and rating app. 516 frequent millennial wine buyers in 17 U.S. states and Canadian and Australian provinces rated a variety of the wines and at different times, during the period.

The data was captured during guided Quini wine tastings, with a number of the wines tasted blind. The split between female and male drinkers was 60 percent to 40 percent, respectively.

Consumers covered in the study are frequent wine buyers and represent the typical wine drinking population at large, with various levels of wine experience.

BUSINESS IMPACT

The report will help to answer a number of important business and product questions, to help drive actionable outcomes. These include:

• How well young wine drinkers can detect sweeter wines.
• How perceived sweetness impacts millennial consumer reaction to a wine’s taste.
• The difference sweetness makes on consumer appreciation of a wine, by wine type.
• The correlation between residual sugar in a wine and consumer impression of its sweetness.
• Younger versus older millennials’ insight and reaction to wine sweetness.
• What RS levels actually affect millennial consumer reaction.
• Millennial consumer drive towards sweeter wines, over time.
• Millennial consumer impression of sweetness in red wine.
• The correlation between sweetness wine impression and millennials’ rating of a product’s mouth appeal or taste.
• Wine types millennials react to more quickly, when it comes to residual sugar.

Please click here to gain access and download the 19 page report immediately.

We look forward to your questions and feedback, and to hear how any of the insight revealed in the report benefited your winery.