Gen Z Isn’t Actually Killing Wine

The useful part

According to a 2025 IWSR Bevtrac survey, the proportion of Gen Z adults in the U.S. Instead of asking why Gen Z does not understand wine, perhaps the wine industry should ask whether we understand Gen Z. Technology and the years shaped by the pandemic altered how we meet, socialize, and spend our time.

How it works

• At the same time, health, wellness, and self-care have become central to how younger generations think about what they consume.
• Younger consumers have shown an interest in lighter, fresher drinks that fit naturally into social settings.
• This is where I believe the recent data should give the wine industry hope.
• The work is already there, in the vineyard, in the choices made during the growing season, and ultimately in the glass.
• Explain the decisions that happen throughout the growing season in plain language instead of assuming consumers are interested only in scores and tasting notes.

What to take from it

Skilled labor is harder to find, adding further pressure to wineries, particularly smaller producers that cannot solve every problem through scale. Wine is competing against beverages that are often cheaper, easier to understand, and designed for casual consumption. I am no longer convinced that is the right way to frame the problem.

Example or evidence

• The moments of togetherness that once happened naturally around a table have become harder to find.
• Alcohol is often portrayed as incompatible with a healthy lifestyle, and wine has inevitably become part of that conversation.
• Each vintage brings new agronomic and technical challenges that require greater investment and deeper expertise.
• Too often, our industry has communicated wine as something consumers need to understand before they are allowed to appreciate it.

Details worth keeping

The world in which people drink wine has changed. More of our lives now take place through screens. Producing wine has become more difficult and expensive.

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