In the United States, a new trend is taking hold: as millennials reach legal drinking age and begin to engage with the world of wine, they have shown a tendency to gravitate away from the historic producers and classic regions prized by their parents' generation and toward boutique wineries and experimental styles.  This shift seems to have its origins in two concepts that today's young people view as important: first, millennials are attracted to the idea of exclusivity, such that limited-production wines from up-and-coming regions seem more alluring than the well-known wines of Bordeaux, Napa, and the like (not to mention the mass-produced wines that are ubiquitous in grocery and convenience stores).  In addition, millennials want authenticity (cf. "keepin' it real"), or in other words, unmanipulated wines that are inextricably tied to a specific terroir.  For this reason, millennials are more likely to buy wines that fall into the "natural" camp, especially those that are certified organic or biodynamic.  In a similar way, millennials are more attracted to unique and compelling narratives about regions and producers than critics' scores.  In short, if a wine seems mass produced or heavily manipulated and lacks an engaging story, millennials will tend to ignore it, even if it's a 100 point wine.  This is not for a lack of money - many millennials are finding the exclusivity and authenticity they desire in the wines of Burgundy, a historically expensive category.  Other millennial favorites include the limited-production wines of the Loire Valley in France as well as the rustic styles coming out of the "New California" school of winemaking.

In the end, however, we believe that the true value of a wine comes down to a very simple set of criteria that never really changes. First is the land—its history, and what has been grown successfully there. Next is the weather: Was it sunny during that vintage? Or cloudy and rainy? Third is the harvest. Was there an abundant one, or was it uninspiring? How much wine was produced? Fourth is the winemaker. If the brand has been around a long time, you can judge them by their past vintages. If they’re up-and-coming, it’s good to know whom the winemaker studied under and where.