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THE Balearics and Catalonia have the greatest percentage of young people who consider themselves habitual drinkers of wine, with 25 and 27 percent respectively, above the 20 percent national average. The lack of knowledge about wine and the consideration that it is a drink which is not very attractive are the main causes as to why just 20 percent of young Spaniards consider themselves habitual drinkers of wine, according to a study compiled by the consultants TNS for Vinos de Rioja. Among the people questioned for the survey, the young people of Catalonia were the ones who felt they had most links with wine culture, as 27 percent of them considered themselves habitual consumers, a percentage which is seven points higher than the national average. After the Catalans, the young people who consume most wine are those on the Balearic Islands, in Aragon and Andalucia, with percentages of 25, 24 and 21 percent respectively. In spite of Andalucia and Castilla La Mancha being traditional wine growing regions, the young people in these regions were the ones who recorded most resistance to wine as, according to the study, some 32 percent of young Andalucians and 29 percent of those in Castilla La Mancha said they did not drink wine at all. According to the poll, 28 percent of young people in Madrid and Galicia did not consider themselves to be drinkers of wine, while in general some 53 percent defined themselves as occasional drinkers. TNS's report also records the average age at which wine is tried for the first time, and this is 16.4 years, although there are significant variations in this age between the different regions, the young people of Castilla and Leon being the youngest when they try it, 15.6 years old. In 42 percent of cases the main places where they first try wine are at family celebrations, and 33 percent when socialising with friends, according to the study. The research conducted for Vinos Rioja indicates that the profile of the habitual consumer of wine is an upper class male aged 28, while the progressive taste for this product happens between 25 and 35 years. Women, however, are more reticent according to the study, as while the men try wine for the first time at around 15 years, they do not try it until they are 17, and they drink less.