The Wine Broad's Board

Wine Culture in America: It's Here!

Some said it would never happen--that the uncouth, brewski-swilling American public would never embrace wine as a part of everyday life. But according to the Wine Market Council's latest consumer tracking study, the term "American wine culture" is no longer an oxymoron.

WMC's reserach shows that the U.S. reached some impressive wine-related milestones in 2007:

* Wine consumption topped 300 million cases for the first time ever, taking over Italy's spot as the second-largest wine consuming country in the world.

*Adult per-capita wine consumption reached 3 gallons.

*Adult wine-drinkers in the U.S. now outnumber non-wine drinkers.

*The average age of "core" wine drinkers (those who drink wine at least once a week) was younger than that of marginal wine drinkers.

That last one is important: It indicates that young adults are playing a major role in the increase of U.S. wine consumption.

This is obviously good news for the American wine industry, because more people than ever are drinking wine--and more expensive wine at that. But that's not to say there aren't challenges ahead: For one, the Millennial wine drinkers who are driving the increase in consumption aren't necessarily drinking domestic wines. In fact, their generation is the one that's most likely to buy imports. Then there's the looming recession, which threatens to put the brakes on America's wine spending.

But overall, there's plenty to celebrate. I've certainly done my part to bring that per-capita comsuption average to the 3-gallon level.

Moving On

You may have noticed that I've been writing a lot of freelance articles lately: consumer-oriented wine, food and travel pieces for publications like Via and US Airways (see "Articles I've Written" sidebar on the right for links). Well, I'll be doing a lot more of that in the coming months, along with more blogging. Yes, after five great years, today was my last day as a full-time editor at Wines & Vines. Don't worry, I'll still be writing my monthly "Marketing Matters" column for the magazine, along with occasional features and news, but I'll be doing it from the freelance-y comfort of my living room sofa.

Why? Sometimes you need a kick in the ass to do something different. For a while now I've been thinking about doing more writing on the consumer side of wine, and widening my focus to other passions like food and travel. Whether this means pure freelance work or another full-time post, I'm not sure: I'm keeping my options open.

In the meantime, let's all drink a toast to change. Salute!