By Leah Hennessy

I’m a millennial and I love wine – and I’m not the only one by a long shot. In my inaugural post, I want to take a minute and point out (in case anyone has been living in a cave lately) just WHY Millennials are such a big deal to the wine industry right now, and why an industry blog written by one of us can be so valuable to individuals working in the business.

There are so many different parameters and definitions for The Millennial Generation – let’s clarify. For the use of this blog, we’ll use the definition that Millennials are people born between the years 1977 and 2000. There are between 70 and 76 million of us out there, and not even half of us are drinking age.

According to several studies and industry observations this is the generation that is generating the biggest growth in the core wine-drinking population. Because of this trend and today’s market, this age group will be crucial in supporting the U.S. wine industry through the current recession. John Gillespie, president of the Wine Market Council, suggests that Millennials are the future of the wine industry. “What’s unique about Millennials is how quickly they are discovering and embracing wine as core consumers, rather than slowly incorporating wine into their lives as we’ve seen previous generations do,” says Gillespie.

After switching careers from a big deal Hollywood talent agency into the world of wine, I wanted to get my hands on some research – and lots of it. Specifically the effects and prognosis of my generation on the industry. After searching, reviewing, subscribing, reading, listening and watching just about ANYTHING available, I’ve found some incredibly valuable information, interesting POVs, and some egregious fallacies.

I seek to share important information as it pertains to Millennials and wine, to bring in valuable feedback and opinions from Millennials, and, when necessary, to call out the bull.*

This blog was built to help teach individuals in the wine industry how to reach out and tap into this next generation of wine consumers.

*First thing to learn about Millennials, if you don’t already know: We tend to speak our mind pretty freely.

Originally published 3-13-09.

Leah Hennessy is the owner of Millennier Wine Sales in Los Angeles and leads WTF LA, which aims to redefine wine culture in the City of Angels.