Considering we have the good fortune to deal with one of mankind’s greatest creations, we wine people spend a lot of time worrying. Our industry is inextricably linked to nature and the passing of the seasons and we’re all-too aware that we’re the frog in the increasingly warm water of climate change. There’s more. The dramatic imbalance between supply and demand is never truly corrected by market forces, leading to a constant surplus of wine that’s either distilled or sold for pennies on the bulk market. And then there’s the pressure from the anti-alcohol lobby. Perhaps one day we’ll have to seriously confront the fact that five to 22% of the volume of what we’re dedicating our lives to can be toxic in excess.

These are serious issues that we face. So, naturally, we worry about almost everything else instead. A great deal of this self-imposed anxiety comes from the misguided attempts to keep up with the Jones – beer and spirits with their beautifully manicured lawns, new cars and flashy clothes. Don’t let the fact that these are entirely different businesses with significant differences at every level worry you; wine should be more like them. Or at least that´s what we keep hearing from the people unironically styled as Steve Jobs, speaking at one another via wireless microphones at conferences they’ve invited themselves to. That these speakers often offer consultation services to address these fears is probably entirely coincidental.

For example; did you know that young people don’t drink as much wine as older generations? Yeah, me too. Mostly because it’s a dynamic that’s been true ever since we found a way to provide fresh drinking water, but also because it’s a constant theme in the self-flagellation circuit of wine commentary. Blake Gray recently listed the various ways that wine has tried to capture a younger audience over the last couple of decades, mostly with limited success. Wine2Wine, a business forum focusing on the world of wine, takes a similar approach. The issue seems to be particularly relevant in the USA, where only very recently, the wine division of the Silicon Valley Bank worried Alder Yarrow into wondering whether the wine industry is heading for a “self-inflicted decrepitude”.

They´re not wrong in identifying the issue. A younger generation, and “young” is quite generously defined in the world of wine, isn´t falling in love with wine in quite the same way as previous generations. Perhaps we should have collectively marketed more coherently to new tastes and values as a younger generation acquired spending power. Perhaps the adoption of modern technologies would have convinced young adults to delve deeper into the world of wine. Various attempts have been made but so far it´s flummoxed the greatest minds in our industry. How could a 30 year old be happy to spend $20 on a bottle of Jamet Côte Rôtie in the 1990s, but balk at the chance to purchase a bottle of Miraval rosé…

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