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Well, we did it. We finally did it.
It was a long road, but we persevered and our persistence paid off. You’ve heard what they say — “Those millennials, they’re lazy. They’re entitled. They want everything handed to them.” But nope, not this time. We dug deep. With our backs against the wall, we fought for what’s ours and we stood our ground.
We’re finally drinking more wine than any other generation.
Per CBS:
Millennials — in general, people born between the early 1980s and early 2000s — last year consumed 159.6 million cases, or 42 percent, of all the wine sold in the U.S., surpassing baby boomers and Generation X, according to a recent survey by the Wine Market Council.
Was it easy? No, of course not. Schlepping to the store every Friday night to pick up a case of mid-range pinots? That took forever with rush hour traffic. Bringing myself to have that glass of wine at lunch after being out until last call the night before? No easy feat by any stretch of the imagination. Polishing off that glugger of red before bed when I had nothing better to do but catch up on my Netflix queue? I didn’t want to do it, but leaving one single glass of wine in the bottle is comparable to just pouring it down the drain. And no, of course I didn’t want to have that mid-afternoon Sunday glass of sauvignon blanc in my to-go cup while I shopped around Whole Foods. But champions never say “die.”
They can call us uncultured and unappreciative. But not us. We’re open to all different cultures from all over the world.
Millennials are also more eager to try wines from all over the world, from places as varied as Greece, Oregon, South Africa and New Zealand, though France, Italy and Australia were the most popular destination among those who drink wine frequently.
Sure, we’ve all got that friend who claims to have “lived” in France when she was really just studying abroad there for two months. She’s not afraid to go back to her roots and sip on a tasty Bordeaux. Even your buddy who was in the completely homogenous fraternity in college isn’t afraid of a little diversity, the studies showed:
Millennials’ tastes are similarly all over the map when it comes to wine varietals. Malbec and Moscato were early favorites, but their sales have largely plateaued, Wine Spectator reports.
Meanwhile, sales of Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc have seen significant gains and become the choice among high-dollar drinkers. And rosé, which was all the rage in the 1970s, is experiencing a resurgence thanks to millennials, primed by the availability of dryer, affordable options, rather than the plonk that passed for rosé in decades past.
Don’t mind if I rosé.
And of course, we love to complain about how poor we are. But sometimes you have to treat yourself to the finer things in life, which parents just don’t understand. My mom’s boxes of wine? Yeah, that would probably be the fiscally smart choice for me. But my friends and I like to act classier than we really are by spreading our wealth by purchasing wines way out of our price range despite the fact that our palettes aren’t refined enough to know the difference.
What’s more, millennials are now more willing (and able) to spend more on the bottle of their choice. WMC’s survey found that 17 percent of all millennial wine drinkers bought a bottle costing more than $20 in the past month, compared to 10 percent of all drinkers and 5 percent of boomers. The average price for a bottle of wine was $7.81 last year, compared to $6.31 in 2011, according to Nielsen.
We, as a generation, are often frowned upon for our attitudes, general infatuation for laziness, and complete lack of motivation to contribute to the world in any way, shape, or form. But not this time. No one can take this away from us. .
[via CBS]
Image via Shutterstock
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Will
Will (Twitter / Instagram) is the host of The Sunday Scaries Podcast.
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This is truly the defining moment of our generation.
I’m so proud. Great job, squad.
Be sure to slap the bag when competing in a grueling tour de franzia, it’s the millenial way
Cheers, friends. Now that my ice luge of a driveway is shoveled, time to celebrate with a glass or 3 of a sauv blanc.
Boom. Resume booster.
Finally something my parents can be proud of.
Todd’s girl definitely makes him buy 3 bottles of Pinot Noir every week at Whole Foods. And makes him split a bottle as they watch the Bachelor together. #TGDAG
Happy to contribute. I put away the dry reds
Caberennials?
The greatest generation helped save the world from Hitler but we can drink a ton of wine. So proud.
Found the downer.
Yeah, it wasn’t easy drinking all that wine. Some of us had to make sacrifices. So yeah, you’re welcome.
There aren’t really any vineyards in Normandy, so maybe they weren’t so great after all
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