No Thanks to Champagne, Say Millennials

by Gretchen Roberts, Posted Nov 18th 2008 @ 2:00PM

The upcoming holiday season means lots of food and wine, but Champagne and sparkling winemakers around the world have even more to celebrate, as more bubbly is sold at this time than at any other time of the year. But a new study from Sonoma State University in California says that young adults between 21 and 31 would prefer to skip it, thank you very much, unless it's for a special occasion. More than half, or 57 percent of the participants, reported that they only drink sparkling wine on occasions such as New Year's Eve and weddings, but 22 percent said they drink it at least weekly. (At least some Millennials know that every day is a celebration!)

The participants did a blind tasting of Champagne ($27-30), Cava from Spain ($10-12), and a U.S. sparking wine ($10-12), with the value wines beating the pricey and image-conscious Champagne. 21 participants preferred the Cava, 16 the U.S. wine, and just 10 the Champagne.

Clearly the study was a small one and can't be broadly applied to the tastes of Millennials nationwide (I'm a good example: at the upper end of the Millennial age spectrum, I love sparkling wine of all kinds and have often declared it would be my desert-island drink of choice). But a couple of theories can be posited. One, Millennials are value-conscious, and they instinctively recognize that there's better value in less expensive, but still traditionally-made, American and Spanish sparkling wines. Two, Millennials haven't been drinking long enough to hone their taste buds to the complexities of good Champagne. Or three, Millennials are smart enough to know that at least one drink should be reserved for something special, or else it turns out that nothing at all is special.

Do you like sparkling wine, Champagne, or both? Do you pop the cork for no reason at all or wait for a major event?

Source

Filed Under: Drink Recipes, Holidays
Tags: america, champagne, christmas, france, millennials, new years, sparkling wine, wine, winter

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-18-2008 @2:24PM texasannie said... I'm only 31 for another 10 days, so maybe I don't count, but I like it all. Cheap sparkling wine, good champagne, doesn't matter. I love the good stuff, but I can't afford to buy as much as I'd like to drink!
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11-18-2008 @2:24PM Chris said... Whenever I can get my hands on it, it's bubbles all the way.

The real stuff too please.
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11-18-2008 @5:45PM kansanpoker said... im in the low end i have been 21 for 9 months now , i grew up in an a household of wine , so i love wine , but im also in college , so wine and sparklying wine , i will drink on occasion , but its not common since none of my guy and gal friends drink either , and as far as Champagne goes , i like it , but its expensive , so its diffently a special time when i drink it , but i do keep a bottle , for the unexpected special occasions
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11-19-2008 @2:12AM Christina said... If I'm out for brunch, I'll definitely order a mimosa, and it seems like many hipsters will too, so I'm kinda surprised by this report.

I'm 25, so I'm pretty much in the middle of the Millennials, and I love champagne, but I only drink it if it's good. I would drink Veuve Cliquot on a monthly or weekly basis if I could afford it, alas it's a big splurge, so it's relegated to only once a year, on New Year's Day.

Then again, most days, I'd be happier with a $5 bottle of sparkling apple or pear juice than a $15 bottle of champagne.
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