I am not going to pretend that I have pointed out all of the issues that face the wine industry as younger generations of consumers get older. There are a lot of issues that might see the wine industry go through a very hard time ahead, including how wine is perceived, waning interest from younger drinkers, and even environmental problems that will effect the ability to grow good grapes. However, most of the issues come down to one thing; accessibility.
With all of the issues outlined in previous
articles, there is one main theme that flows through them all; wine has become
something that is seen as largely inaccessible by a younger generation of
drinkers. People are becoming more and more interested in cocktails and beer,
finding them to be more fun to explore. So, with that said, it in time to think
about how to make wine more fun for people to explore and understand.
There is
one thing that I must point out as a positive for the future of wine and it
comes from Virginia wine country. More and more people are going to Virginia
wineries for tastings, and a lot of those people are younger. They are driving
out of DC and going on day trips or weekend getaways and stopping by winery
tasting rooms to sample their products. This mere fact gives me some hope that
wine can keep up, but it has to do so more globally than just the DC area. It
also needs to bring that fun experience back to the consumer in restaurants and
stores.
In the
first article, I explained how the perception of a “wine expert” is that of an
old school, unapproachable, stuffy older gentleman that would look down his
nose at people who say they like malbec and pinot grigio. However, with a
younger drinking crowd also comes younger wine professionals. That means that
the responsibility of educating and exciting the masses now falls on their
shoulders more that ever. It also means that selling wine for these
professionals becomes a completely different game. Where as a lot of people
used to buy wine based on name and stature, more people are paying attention to
price than ever before. So it comes down to really listening to what the
consumer is asking for. I am no saying this isn’t done by professionals, but I
am saying that this is becoming more important. This conversation will help put
customers at ease and allow them to really be excited about the exploration of
wine.
Another
thing that really needs to evolve is how we both speak and write about wine.
There are many times that I read some of the major wine publications and I lose
interest. So, if someone who focuses on wine for a living isn’t interested by
articles and editorials, then how can someone just getting into wine? This does
not mean dumbing things down, because that would make wine seem even more
arrogant than it can already. What it does mean is that focus needs to be on
attention grabbing and quick education. There is so much information out there
that is vying for our attention these days that it is hard to hold people’s
attention. How that is done and quality is not sacrificed is the tricky part.
As technology evolves, so should making wine interesting, fun, and interactive
with that technology.
I know that
this article doesn’t outline the “exact” way to solve all of wine’s woes.
However, there is a rather large message seen here: wine professionals are the
key to making wine accessible and fun. The biggest key is encouraging the
exploration and knowledge by presenting the information that we have in an
interesting, interactive, and unobtrusive way. Encouraging the exploration of
all of that the wine world has to offer is exceedingly important to gaining new
wine lovers. How that is done is for each person to decide and I hope that my
decision to write on this blog helps with that possibility of your exploration.
