Young Consumers’ Preferences for Natural Wine: An Italian Exploratory Study

Abstract

Although much has been written about sustainable wine consumption, the topic of young consumers’ (age 18–39 years) preferences for natural wine in Italy has been poorly explored. Through an online survey of 640 Italian respondents, we investigate the characteristics that affect consumption of natural wine in Italy. First, a factor analysis was applied to reduce data to a smaller set of summary variables. A probit regression model was then used to explore the effects and evaluate the relative importance of identified factors on participants’ willingness to consume natural wine. The results reveal that being female, in the older age cohort (25–39 years), and being consumer of certified wine and/or biodynamic wine significantly increase the probability of drinking natural wine. The findings also showed that health benefits, natural product interest, previous experience with natural wine, and positive perception of natural wine also drive young consumers of natural wine.