Red wine has, for more than 30 years, dominated global wine consumption. Now, consumer preference for reds appears to be shrinking, with more wine drinkers choosing to purchase white wines. At a quick glance, it’s easy to ascribe the shift to different generational preferences, but the resurgence of white wine preference in the past year appears to also be driven by the diversification of American cuisine and the rising popularity of wine-based cocktails
Like fashion, wine trends come and go. Now, it seems, big, bold reds are on their way out.
“We’re seeing this backlash against high oak, high tannin red wines,” said Liz Thach, president of the Wine Market Council. “We still have some people who love them, but they certainly aren’t as popular as before.”
In the 52 weeks ended May 20 of last year, NIQ reported red wine accounted for 45.1% of total table wine volume; white wine accounted for 48.5% and rosé, or pink wines, accounted for 6.4%. In the latest 52 weeks ending May 18, white wine had increased its share to 49.2% and in the four weeks ended May 18, it increased further to 50.5%, leaving red wine and rosé to account for 43.1% and 6.1%, respectively.
According to a recently released mid-year report on the beverage alcohol sector by NIQ, white table wines were the only type of wine to see sales value growth in the last 52 weeks gaining 0.3% over the same period last year. In the most recent four weeks, white wine sales value had the smallest decline of just 1.2% while red table wines fell 6.6%, pink wines dropped 5% and sparkling fell by a little more than 4%.
By volume, white wine enjoyed the smallest decline of the major wine types in the most recent four weeks, and white wine and sparkling also were down by just 3% in the past 52 weeks while total wine sales volume, excluding wine-based RTDs, declined by 5.4%.
“Especially amongst these younger consumers, there is a preference for these light, crisp, refreshing white wines,” Thach said; she listed Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Vermentino as common varietals sought out by younger consumers.
One of the motivators for consumers gravitating to white wines is that they can typically find more consistent quality across regions and price ranges.
In his 15 years making Massican, winemaker and founder Dan Petroski has seen white wines gain momentum. Part of it, he said, is because of the trust these wines have built with the consumer. “White wines are lighter on the wallet and they’re easier to trust,” he said. “You can trust that you are going to have a comparable experience.”
In what she called the “sweet spot” for consumer price point, Thach said consumers appear more confident in purchasing white wine instead of a red. “At that lower price point, about $11 to $20, those wines are generally a lot more consistent in flavor and style,” she said. In WMC research, across all price points, consumers were looking for consistency and quality.
Heidi Scheid, executive vice president of Scheid Family Wines, said Scheid’s internal data is showing that more and more consumers are shifting toward white wines. “People know what they’re going to get,” she said of varietals like Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. “When you buy a Pinot Noir or a Cabernet, it’s hard to know what you’re pouring into the glass.”
Survey data also indicate younger consumers prefer lighter wines for their flavor and easy-drinking nature, which Thach said is a large reason that they have become so popular. She added younger drinkers find the tannins of more robust red wines “a little harsh.”
And when it comes to modern American cuisine, those interviewed by WineBusiness said white wines better matche what younger Americans are eating. When most Americans viewed a steak as the entrée of an ideal dinner, red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon naturally found a place on the menu. But with Americans becoming more culturally diverse and a larger number of consumers opting for healthier lifestyles, steaks and big reds don’t often have a place at the table.
“Wine is like a condiment — the lemon to your oyster,” Petroski said. “Red wine struggles. It cuts through the fat but doesn’t have the versatility of white wine.”
Scheid said when developing Sunny with a Chance of Flowers, she wanted to focus on younger consumers and their desire for a healthier lifestyle, which meant lower alcohol, food-friendly wines. She said the restaurants that have opened recently in her neighborhood are in step with this trend serving fresher, lighter fare such as salads, tapas and other Mediterranean cuisine.
Inspired by his time in Sicily, Petroski started making white wines to better match the climate and cuisine of California. While Italian cuisine remains the most popular overall in the U.S., recent data from Datassential showed that the favorite cuisine of Millennials and Gen Z is Mexican.
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Thach said Sauvignon Blanc is popular for pairing with Mexican cuisine. “It’s similar to light Mexican beers and lagers,” she said, adding that the citrus notes in a Sauvignon Blanc can mimic a slice of lime in a Mexican lager.
According to the OIV, global consumption has been shifting toward white wine since the early 2000s, driven predominantly by increased demand for sparkling wine. Consumer preference for sparkling wine has been on a steady rise for several years and it continues to be a favorite among younger American wine drinkers, spurred on by the resurgence of classic cocktails that use sparkling wine, such as the Aperol Spritz and the French 75.
In a consumer preference survey, CGA by NIQ reported that 23% of on-premise consumers aged 18-34 chose prosecco or another type of sparkling as their go-to drink. And 53.8% of consumers in that younger age range reported their go-to drink in the summer was a wine cocktail such as Sangria or a spritz; outside of summertime, 41.4% still preferred a wine cocktail.
Thach said spritzes and wine cocktails have been popular among consumers in Europe for a while, and that the industry is now seeing American consumers adopt these overseas drinking preferences.
According to a report by the B2B wholesale beverage alcohol ordering platform Provi, wines from Champagne increased their share of total orders by more than 22% in 2023 while prosecco was up 4.3%, Pinot Grigio increased 2.8% and Sauvignon Blanc gained 2.2%. White wine accounted for 30.7% and sparkling wine claimed 16.74% of total sales on the Provi Platform in 2023.
Thach said she has encouraged wineries to integrate wine cocktails into their menu in the tasting room or to develop recipes for customers. “If you’ve got a rosé or bubbles, you could use that to make things more fun, and not just for younger consumers.”
She added she recently spoke with an alcohol distributor who, when delivering spirits to their accounts, will include recipes for wine-based cocktails.
During the pandemic, Petroski began posting on social media to show fun, interesting ways of using Massican wines, including a European-inspired white wine spritz. He also suggested swapping Vermouth with an aromatic Massican white wine for a lower alcohol martini. “Wine has been so one-dimensional in the way we’ve presented it,” he said. “But as people start to look at how they spend their money, we need to show that there’s more flexibility and versatility.”
Scheid said she worked with Sly Cosmopoulos, director of beverage marketing at Republic National Distributing Company, to create Sunny with a Chance of Flower’s cocktail recipes. The goal was to use the wine to make an interesting and fun experience for their consumers. “Sunny was already pushing against traditional wine and reimagining what wine can be and we wanted to take that to the next level,” she said. “We want to expand what wine can be and make it fun.”
Sunny with a Chance of Flowers shares its wine-based cocktail recipes with its followers on social media and to consumers through direct email campaigns. Some of its cocktails include a Sunny French 75, a margarita inspired cocktail and sangrias for every season.
While Scheid touched on the benefits of the flexibility of these recipes — allowing the drinker to adjust the level of alcohol to their liking — she also said that compared to wine, consumers enjoy wine-based cocktails because of the presentation. Whereas a glass of wine can seem uninteresting, a wine cocktail often elicits a joyful reaction from the drinker.
“It’s fun to have something pretty in front of you,” she said. “It’s like a beautifully wrapped package; the gift inside might be the same, but having it present nicely can make all the difference.”
