The holidays are made for sharing food and drink with friends and family. And for many, wine is a big part of that tradition. The damper the pandemic put on gatherings last year appears to have improved slightly this holiday season: wine purchasing plans for entertaining – much like holiday travel intent – has increased since last year.

To start, CivicScience ongoing data collection from the past three months shows that more than half of American adults 21 or older drink wine. For reference, nearly the same percentage drink beer (56%).

A survey asking of-age adults about their holiday wine budget this year found that the percentage of people who said they would spend $150 or more on wine for entertaining rose (or should we say rosé?) by five percentage points since the holiday 2020 poll. 

The percentage of people at least somewhat likely to give wine as a gift also increased since last year’s study, as did the amount consumers plan to spend on their gifts of vino.

In terms of wine type, ongoing CivicScience data show that red wine is preferred by 45% of American wine drinkers. Yet again it’s the top pick people plan to serve with their holiday meals this year, but it’s worth noting that the percentage of wine fans most likely to serve sparkling wine this year rose two percentage points.

Who’s Buying It?

Digging into demographics, wine-drinkers are more likely to be parents than not, and we observe a slight correlation with holiday wine buying intent, too. Parents are more likely to buy wine for entertainment in general this holiday season than non-parents are, however are just as likely to have higher or lower budgets.

What’s interesting about those who plan to spend more than $150 on wine this holiday is they are the most likely to say they are financially worse off compared to pre-pandemic.

People who are planning to spend the most on wine this holiday are more likely to travel than those spending less.

Decanting or Destressing?

These big wine spenders are also the least likely to have felt stressed recently than those in the lower spending category.

Whatever the reason, holiday winos of all stripes are more likely to report happiness than those who don’t plan to spend any money on wine this year. However, the big wine spenders are also the most likely to be on the other end of the spectrum: they are the most likely to report unhappiness.  

Ordering Onl(w)ine

With online wine companies like Winc taking off, it’s no surprise that online wine buying adoption has increased since last holiday’s study. The new data also show that one thing remains clear: those who order wine online spend more on their wine budget. What’s unclear is just how much online alcohol ordering will grow.

So whether serving red, white, or sparkling wine (or maybe something else entirely) consumers are feeling good enough about the state of things to up their wine ante this year. Cheers to that!