The dynamic loyalty of fine wine buyers w/ Pauline Vicard, ARENI Global

A global think tank, a research and action institute, ARENI Global is dedicated to understanding and sharing knowledge around the world of fine wine.  Pauline Vicard, the Co-Founder and Executive Director, shares ARENI’s definition of fine wine and details findings from their research around the fine wine consumer.  This includes how millennials are shifting the mindset of all fine wine consumers, how they are loyal to merchants over brands, and the differences between consumers in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Europe.  Listen in and get to know the fine wine consumer better! 

Detailed Show Notes: 

• ARENI Global - started as a think tank in 2017, gathering experts within and outside of the wine world, now a research and action institute with 3 steps: 1) understand the world 2) the impacts on the future of fine wine 3) what actions to take
• ARENI deliverables
  • Discussion platforms with peers
  • Publish whitepapers, reports, articles
  • Smaller events, panels
• Fine wine definition
  • Objective quality - complexity, length, balance, potential to age
  • The capacity of fine wine to stop time, bring emotions
  • Relationship with its maker - the authenticity of expression of the winemaker
  • Price points - start at 30 euros ex-cellar, to the highest bracket of 450+ euros ex-cellar
• The fine wine consumer
  • ARENI interviews collectors and merchants every year
  • Want to be treated as unique; curious - really into information; international; demanding; very loyal (not to wines/brand, but to several merchants) - trust is important; price-aware; masculine = getting more feminine (~15-20% today); getting young (now ~49, but getting younger)
  • Use the internet to review prices and ratings
  • Younger international / millennials - don’t have a lot of regional differences, often source wines from around the world; choose restaurants based on sommeliers and follow them on Instagram; learn from the internet
  • Hong Kong - buy to possess, only buy through friends, interested in famous history or personalities, not vineyards and soil
  • Mainland China - buy to drink, only buy through friends, use the internet to make sure wine exists and isn’t counterfeit
  • When prices rise for specific wines or regions, those buyers move on to other wines/regions; the brands find new customers in different regions
• Fine wine regions
  • mostly the classics, Bordeaux (70%), Burgundy rising, Italy, and Champagne
  • California has not impacted much because very little sold internationally, though more via La Place de Bordeaux; taste profile too powerful, Super Tuscans more similar to Bordeaux and better-perceived value
• 4 types of fine wine consumers - fairly equally distributed between each
  • Passionate - addicted to knowledge, mentorship important
  • Status Seekers - buy the label, belong to a group, approved by influencers
  • Collector Drinkers - buy and sell wines, make money to buy more wine
  • Affluent - people who are rich and want to drink better wines
• Millennial mindset - impacting other groups with their mindset - want to be considered as an individual, demanding, likes sustainability, social media use; the challenge is the affordability of fine wine
• People tend to learn about fine wine through family consumption (especially in Europe), work (especially in the US), bought fine wine when it was cheaper years ago, mentorship (often from merchants and sommeliers), interest in food, and travel

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