Wine Opinions, a wine market research company, released research findings designed to pinpoint the challenges facing the wine industry, specifically in regard to 21- to 39-year-old consumers of alcoholic beverages. The research showed that perceived value and rising prices are major factors inhibiting growth of wine consumption by the target age group. “While certainly not the only factor, price matters to younger consumers of alcoholic beverages,” stated John Gillespie, Founder and CEO of Wine Opinions. “In fact, among wine drinkers who are drinking wine less frequently than they did a year or two ago, nearly half—47%—cite the rising prices of the wines they like as a reason for drinking wine less often.” Wine Opinions’ research demonstrated a preference for beer as a “favorite” type of beverage alcohol among males, while preference for wine or spirits skews toward females. Preference for beer also skews significantly to those aged 30-39, while preference for spirits skews significantly to the 21-29 segment. Wine preference is equally divided between the two age segments. A report summary is available online.