By Rick Riozza
Ever since this column appeared in the first issue of the CV Weekly, we’ve always contended that it’s all about the “game of wine”. Anyone who desires to choose wine intelligently, to consider the wine biz & production gracefully, and to simply enjoy and have fun with the product we’ve chosen for quaffing and for meals, we’re playing the game of wine.
And the wine game is always fueled with “what’s trending” or “what’s new on the wine horizon”. Is it all that important to be abreast of foretelling wine news?! You guessed it—doesn’t matter: The game is within you and without you. But how enjoyable is it to open a new bottle of wine and see what it literally brings to the table. Cheers!
I hear from a few wine writers, bloggers, influencers, and wine psychics, that this is an annoying time of season to have to come up with adequate predictions. So much pressure going on these days! But I’m not annoyed—let’s just throw some stuff out and sees what sweet wine sticks.
First and foremost, let’s finally accept the fact that Millennials are now spending more money on wine than any other age group. And the Centennials—people under 25, currently represent more than 50% of the world population. We may well be looking to a real game changer sooner than later in the ethos of wine.
The most impressive fall from grace is the Baby Boomers, who at one time spent like drunken sailors, purchasing cult wines and driving up the costs of wine that they were continuing to buy! Lately, of course there are still a rich bunch buying high, but those numbers have shrunk.
Secondly, what is especially of interest are the numbers: The rise of white wine, and the decline of red wine, is no longer something we’ve only been hearing rumors about. The news that white and rosé now surpass red in worldwide consumption may really hit hard those of you who are red wine club members for life. I mean you all felt safe with the old numbers—but wow! the data is real.
The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) reported that white wine now accounts for 43 percent of global wine consumption, up 10 percent over the past two decades. In the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer of white wine, consumption rose 65 percent from 2000 to 2021. Meanwhile, worldwide red wine consumption is down more than 15 percent since 2007, according to the OIV report. How will this growing preference for white affect the wine industry? 2025 may tell us great new stories!
Thirdly, for as popular as box wine has become, its on & off sibling—bulk wine and cheap wine is not as popular with the Millennials, who we mentioned above are spending more on wine—but not the cheap stuff! Previously, most of the wine folks thought cheap bulk wine was a good thing: that it would prompt the young drinkers to begin to move up to better and better wines. But that appears to be a “starter wine” myth. We’re finding out that younger people aren’t really drawn to wine in general. The American wine companies have become so reliant on branded cheap bulk wine that wine economists say it’s dragging down the whole industry.
As mentioned and stressed above, new studies show that young people are drinking less but spending more, and that the millennials already spend more on wine, per bottle, than boomers do.
Fourthly, guess what’s being ignored by the industry—Natural wine. Despite its popularity among younger drinkers and the fact they want fewer additives, more sustainable practices, ethical production, and transparency. The American wine industry, so far and a bit too late still hasn’t gotten the message.
Fifthly, is “neo-prohibitionism” a real word? Well—it is a real hyphenated word, so we’ll run with that. But there are, as always, some weird forces out there that are hell-bent on demonizing booze and wanting the government to curb our drinking! That we should and need to return to Prohibition times. So how would Canada, to the north, with their whiskies, and, Mexico, to the south with all their Tequila deal with all of that fanfare. It sounds farfetched! But that group still marches on to their own tune.
The case for moderate drinking as part of a healthy lifestyle is challenged every other month. Five glasses of wine a week has whittled down to three—according to some medical findings. At one time, there was an easy movement to allow pregnant women to enjoy a small glass of red wine every so often. These days, the weird powers out there don’t even want expecting women to look at a wine bottle.
Sixth, there is an interesting turn on wine bottle prices. For the longest time, the “entry-level” or average price spent on a wine was around $12 or below. With all of the Millennial movement about, we’re finding that there is a new trend of spending $30 to $35 for a bottle. And do you notice a slew of great wine available in that price range. Yeah—again they’re buying less wine but spending more. It’s beginning to look like another wine glut on the horizon.
Finally—I’m certain we’ll be discussing, throughout the year, the new wine trends that will continue to raise their eager glasses. For a bit, there was a push to simplify wine understanding—lots of new folks jumped on board. But wine’s complexity will always be part of its appeal. Wine is as vast and surprising as the world itself. That’s th e game of wine we wish to be a part of. Cheers!
