How do you win the “modern” wine consumer?

This is a question that continues to be asked, and it should be, by any organization that markets and sells wine. But increasingly, it is being asked for a deeper reason.

The challenge is no longer simply how to market wine, but how to modernize the way wine businesses listen to, respond to and engage consumers.

There is no single definition of the “modern” wine consumer

For a start, there is no single definition of what a modern wine consumer is just as there is no single type of wine drinker. The term “modern” is often used as shorthand, but it can be misleading (and dangerous) if it becomes a label rather than a lens.

It is also easy to assume that a modern wine consumer is inherently tech-savvy. In some cases, this is true but it is not universally true, and it is a risky assumption to make. Comfort with technology varies widely, even within the same age group.

The same caution applies to broad generational groupings such as Gen X, Millennials or Gen Z. These categories can help identify general trends shaped by shared experiences such as technology adoption, economic conditions and social change, but they are not precise enough to guide meaningful engagement.

Two people of the same age, living in the same city, may have completely different relationships with wine, and very different expectations of how brands should engage with them.

What matters far more than labels or assumptions is behavior, and intent.

Why the question still matters

The reason to ask “How do you win the modern wine consumer?” is not to categorize them, but to understand them more deeply.

Consumer behavior in wine has changed significantly over the last few years, and those changes are accelerating. Expectations shaped by other industries (retail, media, travel, and social platforms) now influence how people search for, discover, and buy wine.

As a result, wineries and wine merchants need to shift their focus from transactions to connection. This means defining consumers not by who they are assumed to be, but by understanding what they want, how their needs evolve, and how to meet them at different moments in their lives.

How you connect with a consumer is secondary to whether that connection is meaningful. The channel matters less than the relevance.

A younger consumer may not be able to afford a premium wine today, but could become a loyal customer five years from now. Some consumers may stop drinking wine for a period before returning. Others increasingly choose to buy from businesses that align with their values, beliefs, and ethos.Understanding these evolving journeys, and staying relevant throughout them, is now essential to growth.

How consumer behavior is changing

To engage effectively, wine businesses need to understand the past, the present, and what may come next, not only in terms of broad consumer trends, but also in understanding each consumer’s individual journey over time.

• How consumer behavior has changed over the last few years: History provides context. Past behavior helps reveal patterns in how consumers enter, exit, and re-engage with wine at different stages of their lives.
• What is happening today: Current behavior shows how wine fits into consumers’ lives right now including how they search, engage, pause, return, and purchase across digital and physical touchpoints.
• What may happen next: Early signals in moderation, values, occasions, and discovery help anticipate how consumer needs and expectations may evolve, both collectively and individually.

Discovery is no longer a straight line.

Consumers may browse online, visit tasting rooms, read content, engage with emails, pause, return, and purchase weeks or even months later. Engagement now happens across multiple touchpoints, not in a single moment.

This shift is particularly visible among younger consumers. A 2025 study showed a 34% decline in monthly wine occasions among legal-age Gen Z drinkers since 2019, driven by health considerations, price sensitivity, and growing interest in alternative beverages.

This does not mean wine businesses should step back from engaging this audience – quite the opposite. It means wineries and wine merchants need to get closer, not further away. They need to be present when these consumers do choose wine: when they are searching, discovering, and buying for themselves, their families, and their friends.

Relevance is no longer about frequency alone. It is about showing up at the right moments, with the right message, in the right context.

From segments to signals

This is where many wine businesses struggle.Too often, consumers are defined by static segments or broad assumptions including assumptions about digital fluency. Yet, meaningful engagement today depends on recognizing micro-signals – small but important indicators of interest, intent or change.These signals might include:

• A tasting room visit
• A purchase or a pause in purchasing
• Website browsing behavior
• Engagement with emails or messages

Individually, these signals may appear minor. Together, they reveal what a consumer is interested in right now.

Modern engagement is less about predicting behavior far into the future, and more about responding intelligently in the present in ways that feel appropriate to the individual.

Relevance, timeliness, and proximity

Winning the modern wine consumer increasingly comes down to relevance, timeliness, and proximity – physical, digital, and emotional.

Consumers respond when wine businesses understand their context and engage them with the right message, at the right moment, in the right way. This requires listening more closely, responding more thoughtfully, and engaging more dynamically than in the past.

It also requires resisting assumptions about how consumers want to engage, and instead focusing on what they value and when they are receptive.

A more useful way to think about “modern”

Winning the “modern” wine consumer is not about defining them more precisely or assuming a certain level of technological comfort. It is about modernizing how wine businesses operate around consumers.The wineries and wine merchants that succeed will be those that:

• Focus first on understanding what consumers want
• Listen for changes in behavior, not just stated preferences
• Respond in ways that feel relevant and timely
• Adapt how they engage as consumers’ needs evolve

In that sense, the most important question is not who the modern wine consumer is but how well you connect with them, and how effectively you respond when they show interest.