California: Wine leaders enthusiastic about industry future

(UCDavis) - Despite long-term concerns about climate change and regulatory pressures, California wine industry leaders are once again quite bullish about the wine business, according to two new surveys conducted by the University of California, Davis.

Findings from the surveys of wine executives and industry professionals will be presented at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, during the Wine Industry Financial Symposium at the Napa Valley Marriott in Napa, Calif.

"The wine industry, by and large, has weathered the worst of the economic downturn of this decade," said Robert Smiley, professor and dean emeritus of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.

"The CEOs and professionals who participated in these surveys expressed a growing confidence in the future of traditional brands and optimism for the expanding global market," he said. "And, to varying degrees, they are interested in exploring new products to meet the demands of the millennial generation and increasing their use of social media in their marketing strategies."

Smiley has surveyed wine executives for each of the last 12 years and winemakers for 22 years. The surveys examine global and national trends in the wine industry. They complement other wine research and teaching at UC Davis, home for more than 100 years to the most comprehensive university wine program in the United States.

Survey of wine executives

In this 12^th annual wine executives survey, Smiley gathered the opinions and projections from the heads of 28 leading wineries.

Now that the economy is rebounding, brand and quality are having more of an impact than price on consumer purchases, the respondents reported. They noted that even during the more difficult economic years, many consumers who were accustomed to the more expensive, higher-quality brands continued to purchase those wines; they simply bought less of them.

As the economy recovers, consumers will continue to make luxury wine purchases, but those will be well reasoned, rather than "frivolous luxury" purchases, one executive predicted.

Asked how firms are vying for the attention of the millennial generation, in light of competition from craft beers and craft cocktails, the executives offered mixed responses. Some reported that they or their competitors are developing new products by adding flavors, carbonation or even spirits to regular wine.