Galle-Wine-Survey-Top-10-Trends

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. It may also be worth a bottle of wine. Oenophiles, prepare to brace yourselves before I drop the bomb that most in the industry already fear and dread:

Wine labels can significantly influence a buying decision.

In fact, nearly two out of three pick a bottle based on the label — be it a classic truck, big pair of red lips, or an etched label featuring Neil Diamond (true).

Cringe. Oh no! Shrugs shoulder. C’est la vie!

That according a new report that came out at the end of 2014 from wine juggernaut, Gallo. The results are based on a survey sent to 1,001 “frequent wine drinkers” in the US.

There’s probably an irony of some sort here. Every time a too-cutsey wine label, my spidey senses immediately begin tingling. If–goes my not-so-scientific theory–the winery spent so much time and effort to grab our attention with a visual, what does that say about their confidence in the product? Should we not be talking about the wine itself?

Fortunately, there is an upside: thankfully, it’s the taste that keeps most (76% coming back for more).

And, I suppose it’s worth noting that we live in an increasingly visual world (infographics, YouTube, Instagram, etc.) and therefore the desire to grab attention however possible is likely a sign of the times. There are beautiful labels too (so I should I attempt to keep my cynical side partially in check), many created by high profile artists, some created by winemarker-artists. A few examples that come to mind include Kenwood in Sonoma, and Darcie Kent in Livermore. I’ve even learned that some of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists made (“outrageous”) wine labels:

Charlie Hebdo Wine Label
Wine marketing, Charlie Hebdo style. Château Barrail des Graves wine label by Georges Wolinski (via Wine Spectator)

Other interesting wine trends in the report that caught my attention include:

— Moscato and Champagne are popular among young wine drinkers; they are 22% more likely to buy Moscato when compared to 26 other popular varietals (say it ain’t so!)

— Social media is increasingly influential; more than half (54%) who answered the survey said they engage in discussions about wine on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks (not much of a surprise, and a perfect modern-day extension of the idea of “sharing” wine with friends)

— Many drink wine straight up; almost two-thirds (!) of respondents said they mix wine with fruit or fruit juice (let’s hope they’re not using Scarecrow or Screaming Eagle for that)

Other notable trends include: the popularity of small (187ml) wine bottles — which is seen driven by outdoor events; 72% of wine drinkers under 40 purchase screw tops on a regular basis; eating a meal at home with family is the top activity to accompany wine drinking (followed by relaxing indoors, and watching television).

TOP 10: Snapshots of the American Wine Consumer

Source: 2014 Gallo Consumer Wine Trends Survey

1. SMALL BOTTLES

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 2. SCREW TOPS

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3. BOX WINES

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4. MOSCATO AND CHAMPAGNE

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5. SPARKLING WINE – NOT JUST FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS

sparkling-wine-food-pairings

 

6. MIXING EXPERIMENTATION

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7.  WINE AS FAMILY TRADITION

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8. WEEKEND WINE TIME

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9. WINE AND SOCIAL MEDIA

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10. YES, LABELS DO INFLUENCE WINE PURCHASES

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WATCH: Queen of Wine Gina Gallo talks family, wine business, theater

[Gallo Wine Trends]

Clinton Stark
Clinton shoots videos for Stark Insider. San Francisco Bay Area arts, Ingmar Bergman and French New Wave, and chasing the perfect home espresso shot 25 seconds at a time (and failing). Peloton: ClintTheMint. Camera: Video Gear