Facebook, dat schijnt het wel te wezen. In de Verenigde Staten tenminste .Daar gebruikt meer dan de helft van alle wijndrinkers deze vorm van ‘sociale communicatie’ om informatie over wijn te vergaren. Nou ja, informatie… Er wordt in de breedte gepalaverd, net als bij ons. Belgen zouden het ‘gezever’ noemen. En daar zal menige hater van dit soort ‘media’ zich ‘wel in kunnen vinden’. Op een ‘reguliere’ internet-site mogen wij u verder berichten dat al 6 % van alle Amerikanen tussen de 17 en 34 dagelijks aan de wijn is. Bij voorkeur Merlot en Cabernet Sauvignon. De rest van al het wijnparadijselijke moois maakt daar weinig kans. Maar wie weet welke trend er de komende tijd weer het volk wordt ingeschopt. Ook niet onbelangrijk is dat al 26% in die leeftijdsgroep enkele malen per week wijn drinkt. Trouwens in alle leeftijdsgroepen stijgt het vergiste druivensap in populariteit. Zeker bij 65-plussers, die in enqu

John Gillespie, president of the Wine Market Council revealed that wine consumption continued to grow through two recessions, albeit at reduced rates. In 2010, U.S. consumers downed 276 million cases of table wine. But it is the core wine drinkers that really keep the numbers high. This group, defined as those who drink wine daily, several times a week or about once a week, is about 20 percent of the population (approximately 46 million U.S. adults). This dedicated group accounts for 91 percent of all wine consumption. Marginal drinkers defined as those who drink wine less often than weekly represent 31 million U.S. adults.

Wine drinking is on the rise in the Millennial group (ages 17 to 34). Six percent are drinking wine daily, 26 percent are drinking wine several times a week, and 19 percent drink wine once a week on average. Generation X (ages 35 to 46) and Baby Boomers (ages 47 to 65) are also consuming wine more regularly. The over-65 wine drinkers have the largest proportion of daily wine drinkers, perhaps because of doctors' recommendations.

The results also reveal some interesting figures on varietals. Baby Boomers are drinking Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and leaving behind Dry Rose and White Zinfandel or blush wines as well as drinking less Champagne and sparkling wines. Overall wine drinkers are still conscious of their wallet and looking for good value wines but there are also signs of slow growth at the mid and higher ranges.

Another intriguing part of the survey is the social media results. Two-thirds of core wine drinkers and 40 percent of marginals use the Internet to get information on wine," Gillespie said. More than half of all wine drinkers are on Facebook and 41 percent of core wine drinkers use a smart phone and, of those, 39 percent said they have wine, food or restaurant applications on their phones whereas only 25 percent of marginal drinkers use a smart phone.