Australia’s $8.7 billion wine industry could be revolutionised if it increases the availability of wines-by-the-glass in restaurants.
This was a key finding in research carried out by The University of South Australia’s Professor Johan Bruwer and Dr Justin Cohen.
They said that millennials, in particular, were more likely to be adventurous in their wine selections when ordering by the glass.
The researchers also found that many wine-by-the-glass consumers were female (58%), with the majority in the younger millennial generation of 18-34 years old (52%), most of whom had a post-secondary education (74%), and an above national median household income (+ AU$84K per annum).
“Wines by-the-glass have been on restaurant menus for some time, but restaurateurs have been hesitant to fully embrace them as they think they’ll cannibalise full bottle sales and restrict profits,” Professor Bruwer said.
“As a result, restaurants generally limit their wine-by-the-glass options to low-cost, fast-selling brands.
“Our research shows that the opposite is true: customers who buy wines-by-the-glass tend to choose different wines to those they’d select by the bottle and this opens an untapped market that restaurants can leverage and capitalise.”
Professor Bruwer said people were keen to try different wines but could become anxious about investing in an entire bottle they didn’t know.
He said the availability of single-serve-wines helped to overcome this anxiety and encouraged customers to be more adventurous with their choices.
“Wines-by-the-glass appeal to the young working generation, mostly comprising Millennials, but also including slightly older people, up to 45 years. But the primary target should be Millennials; they’re constantly looking for new information, are curious about trying new things, and tend to have the disposable income to afford more expensive wines,” he said.
