Lately, conversations within the wine industry have been punctuated with doom and gloom. Sales are erratic, the climate is unpredictable, overproduction is rampant and drinkers are hesitant to spend.
Wine is in trouble, news reports say. Sales are down across the industry. Vineyards are being ripped out en masse in California, Australia and Bordeaux. Sobriety is hip, and the World Health Organization announced last year that it considered no amount of alcohol consumption safe. At the same time, it seems Gen Z is more slowly warming to wine than previous generations—hard seltzers and marijuana are far more appealing vices. According to Reuters, these winds of change have global wine demand reaching a 27-year low.
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“There’s an emotional cloud that’s hanging over the industry,” says Sam Bogue, the beverage director at San Francisco’s lauded Flour + Water Hospitality Group. “We’re really feeling the pressure—if you look at the data showing up in the news, it’s years of no growth.”
But Bogue, along with many of his peers across winemaking, distribution and importing, is dubious that the end is near. Many reports are frantic and fear-riddled about the future of wine—but are they factual or fear-mongering? Should we actually be freaking out?
Over-Demand, Then Over-Compensation
Despite bleak headlines, the recent BMO Wine Market Report, a wine industry analysis by the major Canadian financial institute, noted that the American wine industry
This Article was originally published on Wine Enthusiast
