Wine Gains Momentum as Americans' Favorite Adult Beverage – Part 2 of 4
Lydia Saad– August 5, 2005
Special analysis shows different shifts in drinking preferences by age
In Search of a Keg Party
One of the biggest trends Gallup sees in drinking patterns over the past decade is a crumbling of the once-dominant positioning of beer among young adults.
It appears that young adults are trading in their beer mugs for martini glasses, in droves. Beer is still the preferred drink of nearly half of adults aged 18-29, but the figure is down compared with ten — and even five — years ago. In contrast, the percentage saying they usually drink liquor has more than doubled, from 13% to 32%.
Beer is also losing ground among middle-aged Americans. The percentage of those 30-49 who most often drink beer has declined from 48% in the early '90s to 40% in the last two years. Both liquor and wine have made corresponding gains among this age segment as a result.
The percentage of beer drinkers among older Americans -- those 50 and older -- appears stable at around 30%. Wine has consistently been the top drink preferred by this age category, although since 1994, the percentage choosing wine has increased further (from 37% to 45%), while the percentage for liquor has declined (from 30% to 20%).
Despite the downward trend in the percentage of young adults whose preferred drink is beer, it remains their top choice as of Gallup's July 2005 survey. Wine and beer are closely matched as the preferred drink of those 30-49, while wine is the clear leader among those 50 and older.
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