Wine Conversations: How do we get more people interested in Wine (V)

An argument for quality

Welcome to our very first "Wine Conversations", a new feature spotlighting a wine-related topic and transforming it into an evolving conversation between multiple wine writers across the whole of Substack.

This month's topic is one of the pressing for the wine industry in 2025, given the ongoing decline in consumption, sales, visits to wineries, and as the alcoholic beverage of choice for most Americans and younger generation consumers:

How Do We Get More People Interested in Wine?

---

Big thanks to

Dave Baxter

for setting this up and for inviting me to contribute to the conversation. This article represents part five on the current topic. If you’ve missed the prior instalments, I suggest you check them out below as they are all worth your time.

---

---

Wine Conversations: How Do We Get More People Interested in Wine? (I)

Wine Conversations: How Do We Get More People Interested In Wine? (II)

Wine Conversations: How Do We Get More People Interested in Wine? (III)

Wine Conversations: How Do We Get More People Interested In Wine? (IV)

---

The above articles are a tough act to follow and, frankly, have touched upon most of the key points pertaining to the question at hand. However, there are a few observations that I believe warrant further discussion.

A gloomy outlook

While it is evident that, in terms of overall volume, the last 24 years have seen a gradual decline in wine consumption, there is a clear split between the decline at the lower end of the market and the behaviour of the premium to luxury market, which has experienced steady growth. This highlights that much of consumer behaviour is demographically dependent and that we need to discuss different segments of the market separately. As

Kate Reuschel

quite rightly points out, many people in the US, the UK, and other key markets are struggling to make ends meet. With wine of any kind being, by definition, a luxury product—essentially a non-essential good—it is understandably not a priority for many, who, though they may wish to buy it, simply cannot. With steady increases in rental prices, limited wage growth, and the continued aftershocks of post-pandemic inflation reducing the spending power of many households, particularly in the UK, it should hardly come as a huge surprise that we are seeing a slump.

Buying wine is always something of a gamble. While experienced aficionados can increase the likelihood of selecting a worthwhile bottle, it remains a gamble unless one is very familiar with the producer and the wine in question. Even then, bottle and vintage variations still contribute to an element of risk beyond the buyers control. When compared to beer—one of the key alcoholic alternatives within most people’s budget—that gamble is significantly reduced, to the point of being nearly eliminated. Sure, you can still get hold of a range of craft beers that offer some of the unpredictability of a wine purchase, but if you’re just after a regular lager or IPA, chances are you will enjoy the product you spend your money on. In fact, even among the plethora of craft beer offerings, you can likely rely on the style—be it IPA, lager, NEIPA, gose, or whatever you like—to guide you towards something you’ll enjoy. Wine is not the same in this regard, and its quality is much less transparent.

For the uninitiated person looking to spend their hard-earned, and possibly tightly-budgeted, money on a drink, buying beer represents a far safer choice. I cannot blame anyone for not risking their money on what appears to be a bewildering array of colourful labels and odd-sounding names and places.

Demystifying Wine

One answer to the above conundrum, and one that has been heavily promoted, is to demystify wine. To me, this sounds somewhat condescending, if unintentionally so. In a way, it comes across as an attempt to divert attention from the problem that wine quality, at a level that justifies the consumer’s gamble, is simply not consistent enough, instead placing the blame on the consumer for lacking the necessary education, palate, or exposure to make the right choice. This is backwards.

There has already been sufficient focus on making wine more accessible and easier to understand. Anyone who truly cares, after all, is just a Google search or quick ChatGPT query away from clear and easily digestible information answering almost any question about wine. More information, therefore, cannot be the solution the wine industry is seeking.

It reminds me a bit of the oft repeated quote by Derek Sivers:

If more information was the answer, then we'd all be billionaires with perfect abs.

The simple fact is that wine at the lower end of the market—and forgive me for sounding a little elitist here—is rather poor, and no amount of demystification will solve that.

Adding to the problem is the increased availability and popularity of alternative drinks, stimulants, and lifestyle choices that either lead people to abstain from alcohol altogether or encourage them to consume different products that serve similar social and relaxation functions.

That a fair portion of Napa Valley is now dedicated to the growing of marijuana—a stimulant with arguably far fewer negative consequences than the consumption (and metabolisation) of alcohol—should be telling.

What then is to be done?

First and foremost, I think the wine industry needs to relax and take a hard look at what it is asking consumers to spend their money on. While appreciating that there are clear economic realities at play, focusing on improving the quality of wine at the lower end of the market to a point where the consumer’s gamble is justified is, I believe, paramount.

Can we really blame anyone for not wanting more of this? I’d rather have a Corona, thanks.

You may have had the pleasure of seeing someone go through an aha! moment with wine—discovering that there is something more to it than they previously thought. I believe this opportunity is available to everyone with access to the right bottle. The problem is that, assuming the means to shift one’s consumer habits are not an issue, without someone providing the wine for this epiphany, you’re unlikely to find it at the price point you’re willing to pay if you’ve never encountered that eye-opening bottle in the first place.

Quality needs to come first—affordably, reliably, and in a way that builds trust in the product, not just in one brand that a more stubborn supermarket wine consumer might have discovered by trial and error and subsequently stuck with.

Furthermore, not everyone is destined to be a wine aficionado, and that is fine. A recent conversation I had with a WSET Diploma graduate and long-time wine professional shed some light on the matter. He pointed out that, while he loves wine and revels in the opportunity to discover something new and exciting, when he isn’t drinking wine but instead opts for a cocktail or spirits, he defaults to a Negroni. He knows he likes it, it is consistent, and it serves its purpose. Suffice it to say, he does not contribute meaningfully to the consumer statistics for spirits. Similarly, not everyone will be into wine in the way we wine enthusiasts are. Some may enjoy a glass of Chablis and only ever drink that. Others might feel that a Napa Cabernet is their Negroni equivalent and shy away from venturing outside the confines of that tried-and-tested style. Trying to win this consumer segment over with blind tastings and instructions on how to pronounce Trockenbeerenauslese properly is not going to work.

The other end of the spectrum. Outside of reach but for the wealthiest, and not the solution to the current situation either. Though sales here are still healthy.

Final Thoughts

Wine is here to stay. It has survived multiple onslaughts of puritanical righteousness, and I see no reason for the more defeatist sentiments that are occasionally thrown around. What is clear, however, is that those looking to make a living from selling wine must recognise that the consumer they are targeting is living in a world both more constrained in terms of purchasing power and filled with more alternatives to wine than ever before. If someone chooses not to drink for their health, there is nothing the wine industry can or should do about it. For those who do choose to consume alcohol, however, the wine industry must step up its game and provide a more compelling product.

The fact that the higher end of the market is not suffering exemplifies this dynamic: consumers of fine wine, through the privilege of being able to afford it, still choose to spend their money on it and drive the market upward, despite a cross-generational and cross-demographic shift towards lower alcohol consumption.

Consumers still value quality. While external market drivers must be acknowledged, I believe that quality still sells. If your wines aren’t making the cut, stop blaming the consumer and do something about it. Quality, after all, is the variable the wine industry truly controls. We cannot change the economy, but we can make an effort to improve the product.

Stay tuned for

Vicky Hampton

’s upcoming take on the same topic. Would love to hear your feedback both on this format and on the topic at hand.

---

---