2025 Wine Engagement: Nurturing Millennials and Aspiring Beginners through Revitalizing Wine Strategies
Recent findings from the Wine Market Council highlight a critical challenge for the wine industry:
young adults, shall we say non-baby boomers, find wine lists in restaurants uninspiring, often describing them as "boring and tired."
Meanwhile, in the same survey, respondents commented that the presentation of cocktail lists were considerably more interesting. Cocktails are great, but they’re labor intensive and the typical guest orders just one - and they probably don’t go with your food. Ok, maybe we’re a little biased.
The study reveals that Millennials, who are now reaching their prime spending years and are likely your largest demographic; often feel overwhelmed or uninterested when presented with a conventional wine list. To them, wine lists typically lack engaging content, visual appeal, and fail to connect with their preferences – plus their eagerness to explore, discover and experience.
As thought leaders in the wine and hospitality industry, we wholeheartedly believe in the power of telling the story behind any wine. Does your wine list do that? Can you rely on your servers to tell the story?
Is it a case of - “It is what it is.”
Are we just going to join the growing trend of making our wine lists smaller? Are we giving up?
Everyone in your restaurant is going to order food, the question is - how many will order wine?
Do you want to be known as a wine destination? Do you want to be known as a place where wine and food are perfectly paired?
Let’s break down the barriers and make wine fun for everyone - the aspiring beginner, the casual but frequent wine consumer, and the aficionado.
And just as importantly, let’s make it fun and rewarding for your servers!
The Challenge with a Traditional Wine List
Traditionally, it's a one size fits all proposition. Let’s think differently about that…
1. Accessibility - meet your guests where they want to meet you
Your wine sales will go up if everyone at the table has access to your list of wines. There are several ways to do this depending on your overall menu strategy and design.
It could be a two sided menu; one side food and the other side wines - with a QR code for your full wine list.
Or provide everyone with a one page curated wine list for the day, or week, with a QR code for your full wine list.
The key is that everyone at the table has access to your wine selection - BTG and by the bottle.
Next, also offer a digital tablet or eReader option for the person or two at the table who is an inquisitive or visual type. They may be wanting to explore and discover your wine stories complete with eye-catching images, colors and fonts.
And finally, have some traditional printed wine lists for your very valued old school customers - there’s nothing wrong with that!
This might sound like a lot of work. But it's not if you have the right Menu Management tools, and a Wine Program System built with 2020's technology that’s also integrated with your POS and inventory.
2. Confidence - there is a silent majority in your establishment willing to order wine - they need confidence
When it comes to wine, the Aspiring Beginner doesn't know where to start and the Casual But Frequent will order their known brand and miss all your wonderfully curated wines - which they would like, but don’t know how to go out of their comfort zone to order.
“When choosing a wine to order at a restaurant, you can consider the type of food you’re eating, the occasion, and your taste preferences.”
Why not have wine parings for some, if not all of your menu items? For the aforementioned inquisitive diner, why not have suggested food pairings for all of your wines? This is just marketing - right? It builds confidence, and your guest will be happy with their purchase.
Next, the occasion can mean “occasion”; but it can often be a euphemism for budget which for many of your customers (your silent majority) is an uncomfortable discussion. The occasion might just be a school night, or a date night, or truly a special “occasion”. Each of these occasions have their own budget. Why not give your guests an easy, comfortable way to communicate their budget (occasion)?
Menu presentations - both digital and print - can make all of the above a reality.
3. Trust - a trusted advisor always outsells the alternative
For your servers - no matter how knowledgeable they are - that’s a high bar given everything else they have to do. Your sommelier - can she get to every table? - or even most of them?
Of course you should have expectations for your servers and they absolutely should be part of the chain of trust. We’ll come back to that in a minute….
Even if they don’t know a lot about wine, your Millennial customers want to let you know about their interests and preferences - often without having to talk about it. They expect and will increasingly expect that as restaurant operators, we will know their preferences and interests through intelligent, discreet, and very personalized digital interaction. And, remember what their interests and preferences are.
When they know you have listened, they will be in a trustful mindset. When it's time to engage with your staff, the stage is set for a genuine and informed level of conversation. VIPs get this treatment, why not your everyday customer?
Yes, it’s important that your staff is trained and educated about your selections, and pairings, and more. Make it personal. Both about what they personally like (or not so much), about the wines on your list and what you’ve empowered them to know about your customers.
The Art of The Possible - Going Beyond Traditional Wine List
Millennials are our most important market going forward for wine sales in our restaurants.
Let’s meet them where they want to meet us.
There are many possibilities. Lot’s of things are on the table.
Find out more at mywineguide.com
