Marketing Languedoc wine to young people - Are Millenials drinking fine wine?

Marketing Languedoc wine to young people – Are Millenials drinking fine wine?

I’m starting to see some of the press coverage of this year’s Ambassador Tour, a classy series of Languedoc wine tastings held in the US each year. The first article I’ve seen, despite its positive outlook on the tasting and Languedoc’s future, made me pause with a claim that AOC Languedoc is specifically bucking the trend to market toward twenty-somethings. The article goes on to claim that the classification is favoring 30- to 45-year-olds, “the youngest demographic group of wine drinkers identified for the controlled origin wines”

pull quote languedoc wine ambassador tour

This part leaves me a little perplexed. I’m glad we’re targeting 30 somethings which is already a young demographic compared to wine consumption statistics from the 90′s. But why stop there? And why purposefully spread a message that sort of sounds like “our wine is not really meant for people who are just starting”?

Remember when Jay Z got ridiculously mad that Cristal’s producers didn’t fully embrace the rap community‘s affinity for their Champagne? Comments to the press were taken a bit out of context, and customers got very upset. The director of the company that produces Cristal hadn’t said anything explicitly negative, and he still caused a commotion. I think the above article voices a potentially much more direct and damaging point of view that millenials aren’t worth our time.

So let me take the counterpoint: Millenials are totally worth it. Their heads generally haven’t been filled with a priori biases.

I regularly meet people my age who want to drink wine that you can’t find at the supermarket. And I want to insist that any PR folks who read this blog (preaching to the choir?), be careful about spreading this kind of copy. It sort of sounds like we’re wine snobs who don’t serve young adults until they’ve matured a bit.

And I don’t mean to pick on this article too much. It’s very nice and I’m glad it puts the new AOC Languedoc initiatives in a positive light! But I think very young peope who drink wine can sometimes feel intimidated and unwelcomed. And this sort of business philosophy appearing in trade publications like “The Tasting Panel” can sometimes reinforce these unspoken age norms.

Am I over-reacting? Am I doing more harm than good by putting this small trade magazine article in the light of day? Or do you agree with me on some level? Let me know! I am very proud to have readers of all ages. Some too young to drink. Some who don’t let it stop them. ;D And some who can proudly claim they’ve been drinking since before I was born. So let me know if you think the wine business is age-ist. Or if I’m reading a little too much into this stuff.

Tags: ambassador tour, aoc languedoc, fine wine, languedoc wine, marketing, millenials, the tasting panel, wine, young people, youth

English | Ryan O'Connell June 2, 2010

4 Comments

By Lar Veale, June 2, 2010 @ 1:35 pm

If you don’t get there first, then the sweet Gallos of this world will. Heck, they already are. Good marketing, highly sweet fruit. The question is how to get them from there to the Languedoc. Of course, I dare not mention the cureall, social media, but how else do you compete with marketing millions?
By Ryan O'Connell, June 2, 2010 @ 10:08 pm

@Lar Right! It feels like the big boys are pillaging our facebook information to market wine the moment we turn 21!
By Eamon, June 3, 2010 @ 5:20 am

A large majority of the 21-30 year olds I know are price-motivated, ABCs-but-like-Chablis, hate Merlot and are fond of Pinot Grigio. They find solace in major brands like Faustino and Oyster Bay because the world of wine is so dizzyingly complex to even approach. Also because they’re 2 for 20 bob down in their local Spar.

This segment of the market is considerable, and making a mark on it can guarantee future loyalty and sales. You’ll also find that if someone stumbles on that Picpoul de Pinet, they’ll tell all their friends – you can have quite influential opinion leaders in this segment. A collective effort and a return to the very basics of marketing is what’s required – even 4 P’s and beyond – combined with social media ambushes and it’s a start.
By Ryan O'Connell, June 3, 2010 @ 5:54 am

@Eamon That’s all true. And I feel like a lot of it even applies to the 30+ year-olds I know! Wine is intimidating, doubly so if you have a smaller budget and the wine business looks down on you because of your age demographic.