28% drinking less wine than a year ago – study
Some 28% of people drink less wine than then did a year ago while under-35s are drinking more with over-55s drinking the same amount according to a recent Irish study commissioned by Wolf Blass and Lindeman Wines.
Print6 January 2014
The reasons given for drinking less wine than before were:
I generally drink less alcohol 59%
Wine has become too expensive 27%
Wine is bad for health 13%
The people I’m usually with drink less wine 11%
The quality of many wines has declined 3%
The wine I like is no longer available 2%
Other 12%
The Wine Intelligence Survey was carried out in Ireland in July 2013 with 1,038 wine drinkers being canvassed about their wine drinking habits and perceptions.
The study found that 71% of Ireland’s 2.3 million drinkers drink wine.
This compares to:
73% of Dutch adults who drink wine
78% of English adults who drink wine
86% of Swedish adults who drink wine and
91% of Danish adults who drink wine.
1.9 million are regular wine drinkers with 60% of Irish adults drinking wine at least once a month.
More than half (53%) of these regular wine drinkers are ‘interested consumers’ and a further 18% are ‘involved’ with the category. 29% are ‘indifferent’, finds the survey.
Alcohol preferences
In the four weeks before the survey respondents consumed the following beverages:
72% still white wine
65% still red wine
65% beer
47% spirits (not premixed)
38% cider
17% sparkling white wine.
In the six months before the survey respondents had drunk wine from the following countries:
France 62%
Chile 55%
Australia 51%
Spain 46%
Italy 46%
New Zealand 30%
US 30%
Argentina 19%
Portugal 14%.
Consumers found the following important when making choice:
91% – quality of wine
89% – taste
87% – price
75% – colour
69% – promotional offer
58% – recommended by friend/family
58% – brand I’m aware of
55% – country of origin
52% – accompanies food I’m preparing
46% – grape variety I’m aware of.
The Importance of occasion
Seven out of 10 wine consumers buy differently depending on the occasion.
1 million people drank Australian wine in the six months prior to the survey and 50% of Australian wine drinkers buy wine as part of their regular shopping. Four Australian brands feature in top 10.
Attitudes towards special offers or promotions
Familiarity is a major driver but can be overridden by price and promotions:
42% – generally shop in the same store but will look at offers from other stores
40% – take advantage of promotions but only on their favourite brands
32% – take advantage of promotions no matter what the brand
29% – take advantage of promotions but only on their favourite country/region
26% – always check offers before deciding where to shop
24% – take advantage of promotions but only on favourite grape variety.
Impact of pricing
The survey also found that the number of consumers who’d stop buying a brand almost doubles with each €1 increase, while 44% of people are spending more on wine that they did a year ago. 42% spend the same and 14% spend less on wine.
“Though the results are not a surprise to most in the industry, it is nevertheless alarming to have general perceptions confirmed so baldly,” stated the report.
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