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Constellation consumer study finds trendy wine drinkers drawn to merlot

OAKVILLE, March 7, 2008 – It may be hip to drink merlot wine, after all. According to results from a large consumer study released today by Constellation Wines U.S., merlot was the most-purchased varietal premium wine by consumers who view wine as a status symbol.

Merlot made up 20 percent of the wine purchases made by a group dubbed "image seekers," called as such because they like to be known for knowing a lot about wine, according to the 18-month study, called Project Genome, conducted by The Nielsen Co.

Image seekers are consumers who use the Internet to harvest factoids about wine and like to experiment with trendy wines and packaging. However, when they bought wine for home it was merlot, she said.

Image seekers' average age is 35, many part of the millennial generation now reaching age 35, and 60 percent were male, according to Leslie Joseph, vice president of consumer behavior and affairs for Constellation. Research by the Wine Market Council has shown that millenials are as wine-friendly as baby boomers.

Jose Fernandez, president of Constellation Wines U.S., said the consumer behavior data and the location-specific correlations possible via Nielsen's Spectra service is allowing the company to advise retailers and restaurateurs on the proportion of each of six wine consumer categories of wine buyers frequenting their establishments.

The research will also allow Constellation to target wines in its portfolio to each group and even to specific locations, according to Mr. Fernandez.

He said one group of consumers Constellation wants to focus its marketing and communications efforts on is the "overwhelmed" buyer.

These are consumers who like wine but don't know how to match their tastes to a selection from thousands of bottles in a supermarket wine aisle. They were the largest group of consumers in the study, or 23 percent, with the second-smallest proportion of wine purchases, or 13 percent.

Those associated with the wine industry tend to be at the other end of the wine buying spectrum, the "enthusiast" group, and have trouble relating to the daunting wine buying experience, Mr. Fernandez said.

"We've been under-communicating to these consumers because we're not like that category," he said.

Enthusiast wine drinkers, often called "core" consumers by wine market researchers, was the smallest group, or 12 percent of study participants, but bought a quarter of the wine.

The Project Genome study looked at data relayed by 10,000 households in Nielsen's Home Scan data service. Participants in the service scan UPC codes on their purchases of various products. Because Constellation wanted to explore the buying behavior for those interested in premium wine, the company asked for the data to include just those buying wine retailing for more than $5 a bottle.

This research follows a Nielsen study of 3,500 wine consumers two years. The goal is to identify and localize consumer buying patterns and tailor distribution and marketing accordingly to encourage each category of consumer to buy more wine.

The other wine consumer categories in the Project Genome study were:

* Traditionalists: This group represents 16 percent of the consumers in the study and 15 percent of wine purchases. They tend to stick to established brands.

* Savvy shoppers: They amounted to 15 percent of the shoppers in the study and an equal proportion of purchases. These shoppers know which wines they want and look for promotional pricing.

* Satisfied sippers: This group accounts for 14 percent of shoppers and 8 percent of purchases.