The study will focus on infrequent wine drinkers and non-adopters who regularly consume other alcoholic beverages, a segment that represents a significant growth opportunity for the wine category.

“Wine offers an enormous range of flavor styles, but that diversity can make it difficult for consumers to know what they’re getting,” said Liz Thach, MW, president of Wine Market Council. “We want to understand whether people are rejecting wine altogether—or simply rejecting the few wines they’ve tried.”

WMC research shows that up to 30% of non-wine adopters avoid wine because they dislike the taste, often describing it as “too bitter, too dry, or too strong,” particularly among young adults. At the same time, 24% of wine drinkers say label information rarely helps them choose a wine, and 34% report buying a bottle they expected to match a flavor or style they liked—only to be disappointed.

The project combines large-scale sensory data analysis with a consumer survey. Quini, a sensory inelligence platform, will analyze its extensive tasting database to identify patterns in how marginal wine consumers respond to sensory attributes such as sweetness, acidity, smoothness, bitterness, and alcohol levels.

“We have one of the world’s richest consumer wine sensory datasets,” said Roger Noujeim, CEO of Quini. “By isolating responses from infrequent wine drinkers, we can begin to identify which flavor characteristics attract or repel them—and whether those reactions cluster into distinct consumer segments.”

Following the database analysis, the researchers will conduct a national survey of 1,000 U.S. adults ages 21–55 who either rarely drink wine or drink it only occasionally.

Among the questions the study aims to answer:

• Which flavor attributes consumers most enjoy—or avoid
• How many wine experiences lead consumers to decide they dislike wine
• What consumers would like to see on wine labels to more accurately help them find a wine they will like, and to increase their confidence in wine buying

A key hypothesis being tested is that there may be no single flavor characteristic common to all wines that drives rejection. Instead, consumers may simply encounter wines whose flavor profiles do not match their personal preferences.

“If consumers are turning away from wine because they can’t predict how it will taste, the solution may be clearer communication rather than changing the product itself,” said Christian Miller, WMC Research Director.

The findings from this study will guide Phase Two of the project, which will involve quantitative sensory analysis and testing new ways to communicate wine flavor characteristics to consumers. 

Preliminary high-level results of the research study will be shared at the 2026 Wine Market Council Research Conference in Napa Valley on March 25, 2026.