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This paper aims to investigate how the 18‐ to 30‐age group currently interacts with wine in a variety of settings. It seeks to establish how young adults in the UK currently perceive, use, purchase and consume wine. This is the next generation of UK wine consumers.

A total of seven focus groups were held throughout England and Wales. Participants were between the ages of 18‐30 and consumed wine. A gender balance reflecting UK wine consumption patterns was maintained. One focus group was run to incorporate atypical young wine consumers.

Wine is for sharing but a bottle is too big for one person. This key result influences behaviours; younger adults may not buy wine, especially in the on‐trade, but with age this inclusivity increased consumption with partners and friends. Paradoxically, whilst the public image of wine remains as a civilised cultured beverage, it is often consumed during heavy drinking sessions in private situations. In addition, young adult consumers may not actually know how much they spend on wine, but use media to suggest suitable prices in public forums.

The sample population used was small and may not be representative quantitatively. However, the use of focus groups enabled the gathering of significant qualitative data.

The 18‐ to 30‐age cohort is smaller than the 45 to 64s, who currently consume the most wine. Understanding how this population interacts with wine, identifying potential new markets, may enable the wine and hospitality industries to react effectively to their needs.

Understanding how young adults interact with wine rather than their parents will increase understanding of changing behaviours in relation to the social usage of wine.

Most wine in the UK is sold in supermarkets and most of this on promotion. This holds down average bottle price squeezing profit margins when wine is sold below‐the‐line. This paper aims to develop understanding of what currently influences consumers to buy in supermarkets and what might influence them to trade‐up.

Literature related to supermarket shopping and to wine buying in an off‐trade environment was reviewed. Several issues which may influence wine buying in supermarkets in the UK, particularly the impetus to trade‐up, were identified. An exploratory study using focus groups followed to explore these issues in further depth.

Wine bought along with groceries can be seen to be as ordinary as any other fast moving consumer good. This perception influences consumers’ wine buying behaviour in supermarkets. In particular it influences perceptions of suitability and price.

This was an exploratory study with a small sample population and so cannot be taken to be fully representative of the whole UK adult population. Nevertheless, it raises many significant issues in relation to wine buying in supermarkets, all of which would benefit from further research.

The results highlight areas where all off‐licences, particularly supermarket chains, could usefully review their current marketing strategies.

This study highlights the fact that there are two wines in many consumers’ minds. Much wine related research has been undertaken at the high involvement, luxury end of the market, but very little at the low involvement, ordinary end where most sales take place. This paper starts to address this issue.

The UK wine market is one of the largest in the world. The purpose of this paper is to investigate current social and cultural influences affecting the buying behaviour of UK wine consumers within off‐trade environments.

Three stakeholder groups involved in the provision and sale of wine in the UK are identified. Data gathered from these stakeholders, via semi‐structured interviews, are used to classify groups of UK wine consumers and to develop a question schedule for a series of six wine consumer focus groups.

The results show that intended usage and or consumption situation have significant influence upon purchasing behaviour. The purchase decision is further influenced by whether intended usage is to be private or public. Significant gender differences are identified; wine buying is often perceived as a predominantly male role although more women actually buy more wine. Differences in low involvement and novice behaviours are identified.

The sample population used was small and may not be representative quantitatively. However the use of focus groups enabled the gathering of significant qualitative data.

As a mature, sophisticated wine market, wine purchasing and consumption in the UK has become so incorporated into lifestyle that the consumption context drives purchasing behaviour whether overtly or covertly. Understanding the context of presumed use enables better understanding of consumer behaviour to be developed.

This study suggests that whilst high and low involvement market segments can be, and have previously been, identified these are artificial and fluid constructs since most wine consumers utilise a range of behaviours.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate drinking patterns; attitudes towards alcohol consumption and alcohol‐related behaviours amongst differing groups of young adults. A further aim is to investigate whether the drinking behaviours of undergraduate populations can be considered to be representative of young adult behaviours in general.

Four groups of young adult alcohol consumers are identified. The participants in the first two groups are aged between 18 and 23, one group being undergraduates and the second non‐graduates in work. Participants in the second two groups are aged between 24 and 29, one group comprising graduates in work, the second non‐graduates in work. 120 questionnaires were completed; 30 in each sample group, with an even gender distribution. Follow up one‐to‐one interviews are carried out with representatives from each group.

Although a small study it is evident that whilst there are some similarities in behaviours between the differing sample groups significant differences in alcohol‐related behaviours dominate.

The results suggest that utilising the results of research carried out amongst student populations to inform government policies with regard to the behaviour of young adults in general is unlikely to be successful in changing drinking behaviours.

This paper produces new insights into current drinking cultures and attitudes towards drinking in differing groups of young adults. Specifically, it compares behavioural norms between graduate and non‐graduate populations challenging much current research which is based upon student samples as being representative of the young adult population as a whole.

This paper aims to examine consumer preferences and perceptions of rosé wine with an ultimate purpose of constructing a perceived image of rosé in the cross-cultural context.

The study was conducted in four markets, comprising the USA, New Zealand, France and the UK. The data were collected via a structured questionnaire through a combination of survey administration modes (pen-and-paper and online). Descriptive statistics, chi-square, factor analysis and ANOVA were used for analysis.

One of the key findings revolves around the construction of the perceived image of rosé and how this image varies in different markets. Effectively, this study presents an overview of the perceived reputation of rosé in four different market structures, shaped by different cultural and image management issues.

The most crucial implication of this research is the cultural variation in consumer attitudes toward rosé wine and its impact on marketing strategies to effectively target rosé consumers in different markets.

The vast majority of studies on wine consumer behaviour focus on red or white wines, whereas research on consumption of rosé is virtually non-existent. However, recent market trends indicate a growing popularity of rosé wine around the world. The current study is the first to concentrate on rosé as the focal point of research investigation. The study not only offers insights on the perceived image of rosé based on empirical data, but also provides a broader cross-cultural perspective on how this image varies in different markets.

The Delphi technique is used to achieve consensus among experts and/or gain judgment on complex matters. This paper aims to discuss the classical Delphi and its advantages and disadvantages in qualitative research, particularly in hospitality.

The classical Delphi is characterized by the involvement of experts and its iterative nature. In an industry with high turnover and limited pools of specialist expertise this can lead to problems of attrition and management of the process. The paper presents two qualitative hospitality research case studies in which the classical Delphi is successfully modified to overcome its limitations.

Identifying potential problems early in the research process enables critical design decisions to be made. Case one used a parallel expert group with similar experience to develop a research instrument for a limited number of prestigious experts well‐acquainted with one another who might have reached specious consensus through channels not accessible to the researcher. Case two enabled the addition of new experts to an expert panel to overcome attrition in successive Delphi rounds.

Despite its growing popularity in social science, Delphi has rarely been used in qualitative hospitality research. The modifications suggested in this paper can enhance the robustness of the classical Delphi technique for qualitative hospitality research.

The paper shows how the classical Delphi technique can be successfully modified for use in qualitative hospitality research.

The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the engagement of Generation Y consumers with champagne and sparkling wine across five Anglophone countries.

A qualitative approach was adopted using focus groups with young consumers, including images and wine tasting as projective stimuli.

There were significant trans‐cultural similarities between consumption behaviour (sparkling wine is a women's drink, and a separate category from still wine, and that they will “grow into” drinking it) but also noticeable differences (responses to images and colours varied substantially, as did attitudes to price and the particular status of champagne).

Research into the behaviour of Generation Y as a cohort needs to take account of cultural as much as generational context. However, as a qualitative study the findings need further quantitative validation.

Marketers cannot view Generation Y as a single group; even within countries marketing strategies may need to be refined depending on where a product is being sold.

No trans‐cultural study on Generation Y has been carried out to date, nor has their engagement with sparkling wine been specifically explored.

The purpose of this paper is to test Luna and Gupta’s (2001) investigative framework on the interaction of cultural values and consumer behaviour by conducting a cross-cultural comparison of young wine consumers’ interpretation of images of champagne and sparkling wine. The research examined consumer responses to the images through the prism of the relationship between symbolism, ritual and myth, as well as other related values.

In a series of focus groups with consumers from four anglophone countries (the USA, New Zealand, Australia and the UK), six images of champagne and sparkling wine were used as stimuli to encourage affective and cognitive perspectives on the topic.

Overall, the UK market showed distinct differences from the other markets, due very much to its cultural context. The UK consumers valued traditional advertising; focused mainly on the product itself; and did not associate champagne with fun. Respondents from the New World focused on the general impression of the image and on enjoyment and fun associated with consumption of champagne and sparkling wine.

The most crucial implication of this research is the cultural variation in consumer perceptions of champagne and sparkling wine and the impact that it has upon marketing strategies on how to market this product category to younger consumers in different markets.

This research contributes to the study of cultural values and consumption behaviour, as well as image effectiveness in forming perceptions of the product category.