THE wine industry has been told to let its hair down and shed its pretensions or risk losing the next generation of wine drinkers.

But for the first time, a vehicle to connect with the younger generation has arrived in Australia - a wine lifestyle magazine that aims to demystify wine and put it in the reach of twenty-somethings.

The sister publication of Wine X in the United States, Wine X Australia/NZ has released its second issue in Australia in a bid to corner the younger "Gen X" market and give the industry a wake-up call about the next generation of wine consumers.

Speaking at the launch of the latest issue, publisher David Gorrie said the bi-monthly was aimed at the 18-39 year old demographic but its primary target was the mid-to-late 20s age group, a market segment neglected by the wine industry."

The Australian wine industry, and the wine industry in general, have had real difficulty trying to penetrate the young adult market," Gorrie said.

According to US Wine X publisher Darryl Roberts, it is the "preaching to the converted" style of promotion that the wine industry has followed that has turned Gen Xers away from wine in droves, pushing them into the arms of the user-friendly beer and spirits makers.

The answer lies not in developing products specifically for the market, like Southcorp's Soho or BRL Hardy's Wicked Wines, but rather targeting advertising approaches to market segments and connecting with the youth lifestyle and drawing them into established brands, Roberts said.

Specific criticisms were the similarity of wine advertising - comprising mainly of bottle shots and countryside - as well as the subscription to the myth that, eventually, everyone will grow up and become wine drinkers.