The wine industry is plagued with discourse about deflating sales. But a new study, backed by Come Over October (in partnership with Local Wine Events), sheds light on some of the untapped opportunities that could help the wine industry not only survive, but thrive.
“We were looking into what’s behind the downturn,” says Gino Colangelo, co-founder of Come Together and president of Colangelo & Partners. “How can wine address it?”
As the survey of over 1 500, both non-drinkers and wine drinkers showed, people are still interested in wine – even if their spending behaviors don’t always reflect that. The majority of respondents (61%) say that wine is almost always part of their social get-togethers, and 41% of respondents cited “occasions” as their main impetus for drinking wine: birthdays, promotions, milestones, break-ups, girl’s nights, even Vanderpump Rules premieres.
“It all circles back to the idea that people need an occasion," says Colangelo.
Getting together, however, isn’t always so easy. 77% of respondents cited busy schedules as the main reason they weren’t gathering, and 40% cited the distance between friends and loved ones. It can feel too expensive, time-consuming, and physically taxing to gather.
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