Impact of the Pandemic on Wine Consumption and Winery Visitation Trends
In 2022, we continued with our research funded by the Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Board (Project No. #239695), focusing on Mid-Atlantic region wine consumers and the impact of the pandemic on their wine purchasing, consumption, and tasting room visits.
The following are more details on the data collected during the 2022 survey. We will present additional analysis highlights in future articles. To learn about the outcomes of our 2021 survey.
A 15-minute internet survey (21 to 28 March 2022) was administered to consumers who lived in the Mid-Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) and states that share borders to the east and south of the region (Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia) and Washington D.C. Participants were allowed to access the survey if they were not a member of the wine industry or trade; were not involved in conducting consumer or marketing research; were between 21 and 75 years of age; and drank wine at least once during the previous month and purchased wine at least once within the last three months. Of the responses collected, 805 of the surveys were considered complete and used for analysis.
Participant Descriptions
We segmented participants based on several demographic and behavioral characteristics. Of our participants, 19% were members of the combined Gen Z and Younger Millennial generations (aged 21 to 32 at the time of the survey), 33% were Older Millennials (aged 33 to 41), 27% were Gen Xers (aged 42 to 57), and the remaining 22% were Baby Boomers (aged 58 to 76).
While 12% of the participants drank wine daily, 44% drank the beverage a few times a week. Of the remaining participants, 19% consumed wine about once a week, 17% two to three times a month, and 8% about once a month.Â
Regarding the last time that the participant purchased a bottle or container of wine to be consumed later, 60% did so within the week before the survey, 31% within the prior month, and 9% within the past three months.
With 796 of our participants responding, 84% (n=667) indicated that they lived with one or more adults aged 21 and older. Of these, 90% indicated that one or more of the adults also drank wine, and 85% indicated that one or more of the adults also purchased wine.
Of the participants, 387 (48% of these respondents) visited tasting rooms in the states listed previously since mid-March 2020, when the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order was enacted, with 40% of these participants (n=154) responding that they had visited during all three periods we investigated: before 2018, between 2018 and mid-March 2020, and after mid-March 2020.
Change in Wine Consumption
We asked participants to indicate if their current wine consumption had increased, decreased, or remained the same as before mid-March 2020. We also asked if consumption had increased or decreased if it was because of the pandemic or because of another reason. While half of the participants indicated that their wine consumption did not change, nearly 42% did respond that their consumption increased. Of those who increased their wine consumption, a greater percentage indicated that the increase was due to the pandemic than because of another reason.
Winery Tasting Room Visits
Descriptions of other visitation trends (e.g., number of participants who never visited a tasting room, number who visited a tasting room until mid-March 2020) are shown in Figure 1. Having these groups allows us to investigate issues specific to each further and make any necessary comparisons.
We asked participants if they were concerned about attending an indoor tasting at a winery, brewery, distillery, etc., during the pandemic. Of the 795 participants who replied to the question, 29% were "not at all concerned," 41% were "slightly" or "somewhat concerned," with the remaining 21% responding that they were "moderately" or "extremely concerned."Â These and responses for other small businesses are reported in the table below.
|
Business type/occasion |
Not at all concerned |
Slightly or somewhat concerned |
Moderately or extremely concerned |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Indoor tasting at a winery, brewery, distillery, etc. |
29% |
41% |
21% |
|
Shopping at an indoor farm market or farmers’ market |
33% |
39.6% |
27.4% |
|
Dining indoors at a restaurant |
29.6% |
39.3% |
31.1% |
|
Shopping at a small retailer for non-food items |
33.8% |
42.5% |
23.8% |
|
Shopping for wine, beer, spirits, etc., at a small liquor store or boutique |
37.8% |
38.7% |
23.5% |
Insights
Our survey results provide insights into the impact of the pandemic on wine consumption and winery visitation trends, highlighting the importance of addressing consumer concerns to encourage safe and enjoyable experiences. We examined changes in wine consumption and winery tasting room visits during and after the pandemic. Participants were asked to indicate if their wine consumption had increased, decreased, or remained the same as before mid-March 2020, with nearly 42% indicating an increase in consumption. Of those who increased their wine consumption, a greater percentage attributed it to the pandemic than any other reason. We also investigated participants' concerns about attending indoor tastings during the pandemic and found that the majority were slightly or somewhat concerned.
