The Wine Market Council (WMC), a membership-driven leader in advancing the U.S. wine market through research and insights, has launched a major new initiative to uncover and address the key barriers consumers face when purchasing wine. In partnership with global research firm Vista Grande, the initiative will offer actionable solutions for wineries, retailers, and distributors to boost engagement and sales.
“This study is a top priority for our members,” said Dr. Liz Thach, MW, President of WMC. “It will reveal the obstacles everyday consumers face when shopping for wine—and help the industry design smarter, more accessible sales strategies across all channels.”
The research will unfold over several months, starting with video interviews and shop-alongs with wine consumers across the U.S. These qualitative insights will be followed by a national survey of 1,500 wine drinkers to test and validate solutions that resonate most with today’s buyers.
“We’re thrilled to be working with WMC on this critical project,” said Russ Onish, President of Vista Grande. “The results will provide clear, practical solutions wine businesses can use to improve the customer experience and grow their consumer base.”
Upcoming Webinars to Share Key Findings
In order to disseminate the results of the research, WMC has scheduled two webinars for members, with the first scheduled for Thursday, July 31.
“In this first webinar we will share the results of the qualitative interview phase so that our members can see and hear directly from consumers across the nation about the barriers they encounter when trying to purchase wine, and what they think should be changed,” stated Christian Miller, Research Director for Wine Market Council.
This webinar will feature Russ Onish from Vista Grande and Lisa Gulick, SVP for National Accounts Retail with Southern-Glazers. It will be introduced by Liz Thach, MW and moderated by Christian Miller.
“We are pleased to have Lisa join the webinar, because she will provide insights on these barriers from the perspective of a wholesaler selling into on and off-premise accounts, as well as to provide commentary on the feasibility or promise of some of the solutions,” Miller continued.
A second webinar is scheduled for September 2025 to review the validated survey results so that wine businesses can feel confident about selecting solutions for implementation.
Not a Member of Wine Market Council Yet?
If you are interested in this webinar, and not yet a member of Wine Market Council (WMC), we encourage you to explore the benefits of membership. As a non-profit organization, established in 1996, we are powered by members with an interest in advancing the U.S. wine market and industry. The mission of WMC is “to conduct forward-looking market research on U.S. wine consumer buying habits, attitudes and trends.’
Membership benefits include access to cutting-edge research on the U.S. wine consumer, along with member webinars, newsletters, access to data files and statistics, and complimentary attendance at our annual research conference. Membership starts as low as $400 per year for access to webinars and reports, and as low as $1000 per year including data files – depending on the size of your organization. Members include wineries, distributors, growers, importers, regional, national, and international trade associations, and affiliates. For more information on membership and costs, please see https://winemarketcouncil.com/join/.