(Wines&Vines) - Constellation Brands today rolled out the new and improved version of its long-running Project Genome study that personifies wine consumer groups using demographic segments. In this third phase of the 10-year-old study, the giant publicly traded wine and spirits company found wide extremes in consumer attitudes toward wine, and created three new segments of consumer to help all tiers of the wine trade better understand their customers.

Project Genome documents that while the subject of wine has become more complex, some consumers now feel more confident and better educated, according to Indira Augustin, director of consumer strategic insights for Constellation. “It’s interesting that there seem to be two things at odds,” she told Wines & Vines. “On the one hand, people told our researchers that wine has become more complex and even overwhelming, but on the flip side, consumers have a lot more knowledge at their finger tips, and Millennials have grown up with some knowledge, so it’s already a part of their lives.”

Project Genome, The Evolution of the Wine Consumer, identified three new segments of wine drinkers based on purchase behavior, preferences and taste profiles: Engaged Newcomers, Everyday Loyals and Price Driven consumers. These groups comprise more than half of the wine drinking public in the United States and Canada, and will have a significant influence on the future direction of the industry, according to Augustin and Dale Stratton, VP of strategic insights for Constellation.