Cigarette companies target advertising towards young people because they realize that children are their future … customers.

So why is the wine industry so stuck on baby boomers? They’ve been targeting the same demographic for years. It shows in the numbers, too.

From the mid-80s to the mid-90s wine drinkers over the age of 35 grew from 53% to almost 70%. Those embibers under 35 tanked from 48% to under 30% during the same period.

That was the boomers aging. Wine, for some unknowable reason, sits in a category with golf clubs. The wine industry is so hopelessly out of touch. Any Madison Avenue pimp can tell you that Gen Xers spend 10%+ more on EVERYTHING they buy than do Baby Boomers. So, wouldn’t you want them buying your product?

Wine is not about status, it’s not a proclivity to be earned. It is not special. And it is not yours.