New on-premise report provides insight into the relationship between wine, craft beer and cocktails
St. Helena, CA, November 3, 2014—Wine Market Council, the non-profit association of grape growers, wine producers, importers, wholesalers, and other affiliated wine businesses, today unveiled the results of a recent “On-Premise Discussion Group Study Report” among members of the U.S. wine trade including sommeliers that work on-premise, as well as beverage professionals and mixologists. Wine Market Council conducted two online discussion groups to gain insight into the relationship of wine, craft beer and cocktails.
The discussion groups focused on: the role occasion plays in beverage choices; whether craft beer and cocktails are complementary or a substitute for wine; the crossover of craft beer drinkers, cocktail drinkers, and high frequency wine drinkers and/or high-end wine buyers; the other types of beer consumed by craft beer drinkers; and predictions for future craft beer, wine, and cocktail consumption.
‘On-Premise Discussion Study Group’ participants included:
– Adam Seger, Corporate Sommelier/Mixologist, Ipic Entertainment, Chicago
– Alessandro Fagorzi, Captain/Sommelier, Del Posto, New York City
– Alyse Mizia, Beverage Manager, Crosby Street Hotel, New York City
– Andrew Fortgang, Co-Owner, Le Pigeon and Beverage Director, Little Bird Bistro, Portland
– Bex Karnofski, Bar Team leader, Miller’s Guild Restaurant, Seattle
– Brian Lee, Bartender, Canon Whiskey and Bitters Emporium and Toulouse Petite, Proprietor of the beverage catering company Cocktail Carpentry, Seattle
– Chris Gaither, Wine Director, Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco
– Cortney Lease, Company Wine Director, Ginsing LLC Group, Seattle
– Eduardo Porto Carreiro, Beverage Director, DBGB, New York City
– Francis Schott, Beverage Director, Stage Left and Catherine Lombardi, New Brunswick, New Jersey
– Hristo Zisovski, Beverage Director, Altamarea Group, New York City
– Jake Kosseff, Managing Partner, Miller’s Guild Restaurant, Seattle
– Jeremy Merritt, Food and Beverage Consultant, Future Restaurant Group, Las Vegas
– Molly Wismeier, Director of Beverage, Restaurant R’evolution, New Orleans
– Sean Beck, Sommelier/Beverage Director, Hugo’s, Backstreet Café, Trevisio, and Caracol, Houston
– Yoon Ha, Sommelier, Benu and Monsieur Benjamin, San Francisco
“Overall we found that discussion participants believe that increases in the consumption of wine, beer, or spirits, is a benefit to all in the beverage industry,” said John Gillespie, President of Wine Market Council. “They don’t think the rise of craft beer or cocktails should have the wine industry ‘running scared’ and the overall sentiment was that wine will always have a place at the table.”
Other key discoveries from the “On-Premise Discussion Group Study Report” include:
– Most discussion participants felt craft beer and wine can be complementary. However, the venue can dictate if beer or wine prevails. Higher end restaurants tend to be wine-dominant, while beer can be a wine substitute at bars, lower-end restaurants, and restaurants serving ethnic food that pairs well with beer. Also influential can be the wine-to-beer ratio of a wine list – customers may defer to wine on a wine-heavy list, or to beer on a beer-heavy list.
– The larger the group of drinkers, the wider the variety of beverages ordered. The more casual the occasion, the more interchangeable are wine, beer, and spirits. In addition, the consensus was that consumers spend more per drink the more special the occasion, no matter if they drink wine, beer or spirits.
– That craft beer typically costs less than a glass of wine or a cocktail is a possible reason for some to choose beer instead of wine or a cocktail, and was a reason that discussion participants don’t think of craft beer drinkers also as high-end wine buyers. Also in this context it came up that wine and cocktail drinkers are typically willing to spend more money on drinks than craft beer drinkers.
The complete report is being provided to Wine Market Council members only. The results of this study should be considered qualitative and directional, as they are based on a relatively small sample size and a combination of participant experiences and opinions.
Save The Date: Wine Market Council’s 10th Annual Research Conferences
Wine Market Council also announced today the dates for the 10th Annual Wine Market Council Research Conferences to be held Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Friday, February 6, 2015, at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville, California. Registration for both conferences will open in December 2014 and is free for Wine Market Council members (up to 3 company representatives can attend) and $125 for non-members. Attendees can register at www.winemarketcouncil.com. Media passes are available. For more information, contact Sherri Fidel at admin@winemarketcouncil.com or (707) 738-8796.
About Wine Market Council
Wine Market Council is a non-profit association of grape growers, wine producers, importers, wholesalers, and other affiliated wine businesses and organizations. The council’s mission is to establish the widespread acceptance of wine as a rewarding part of American culture and to report on timely issues and emerging consumer segments in the industry. Wine Market Council provides its members with consumer research that is proprietary to Wine Market Council members, who incorporate it into their strategic planning, marketing and sales execution. Wine Market Council was established in 1994 as a non-profit (501c6) trade association working through all tiers of the U.S. wine industry to grow the wine market. More information can be found at WineMarketCouncil.com and on Twitter @WineMktCouncil.
