Is Gen Z killing the wine industry? Young people reject the ‘elite’ drink

Here’s something for summer.

Gen Z isn’t drinking like other generations — in fact, they’re barely consuming alcohol at all, with worldwide wine consumption down to a 27-year low, according to recent reports.

Online, non-drinkers cite the cost of living, the ease of consuming THC, health concerns, the taste of vino and the wine industry’s “elitist” reputation as reasons for their lack of enjoyment.

“Alcohol is the cigarette of 2024,” one TikToker boldly declared.

The sentiment comes in the wake of recent studies warning of the ill effects of alcohol and advice from the World Health Organization that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe”. As a result, more Americans perceive alcohol to be harmful to overall health, even in moderation.

“I’ve heard wineries say it’s just been really challenging to deal with the fallout,” Rochester-based wine writer and educator Maiah Johnson Dunn told the Guardian, referring to the statement from the WHO, which even has ” scare” people from visiting wineries.

Due to the lack of nutritional labels on alcoholic beverages, the health-conscious crowd is more wary of consuming beverages without knowing what’s in them.

“One of the main questions was: how much sugar is there? How many calories? Can I see the food?” Ellen McNeill, 28, recalled her former role at a hard seltzer company.

While some seltzers may list nutrition facts on the label, “wine doesn’t give a damn about calories. It’s about the taste and the experience,” added McNeill, who now co-hosts the Los Angeles-based music night called Silverlake Jams.

Another point of contention for non-wine drinkers is the pretentiousness of the industry and its products, Dunn explained.

“You don’t even know when you’re getting into it, do you? Even the way you hold your glass is something that someone will find a way to judge you for,” she said, adding that there is a “fear of saying the wrong thing”.

Natural wines have become a viable option for those who want to indulge without the booze, according to Bradford Taylor, owner of the wine bar California Ordinaire. The proliferation of natural wine — also called skin contact or low intervention — has resulted in a slew of wine shops and bars specializing in vino, Le Dive, Skin Contact or Greenpoint’s newest addition, Bouquet.

“There is no collection culture. There is no culture of aging wines. There is no fetishizing of historic castles or buying the future,” Taylor says of the natural wines, which are created by natural fermentation and without filtration or additives.

Because of this, the plain wine – with a strange and fresh taste – “appeals to people with less income, but also perhaps with a little more skepticism” about traditional wine.

Some, however, have sworn off altogether. Past data has shown that more than 40% of Gen Zers surveyed between 21 and 25 had never had a sip of alcohol, with marijuana use becoming more common.

Hint: the meteoric rise of mocktails for the “sober curious.”

At Stay, an alcohol-free bar in LA, patrons of all ages are drawn to the prospect of good vibes but no hangovers the next morning. When they opened earlier this year, it was “a packed house”.

“You can drink any drink, you can mix drinks, you can drive home, you can go to sleep, you can wake up without a hangover,” co-owner Stacey Mann told The Guardian, adding that Dry January “was crazy”.

And it’s not just LA – in New York City, shelters have been created for abstainers, such as the downtown Hekate shelter, which bills itself as a “sober shelter.”

It’s a stark contrast from the bar scene even 20 years ago, when a strictly sober bar “wouldn’t have any wheels,” noted the co-owner of Stay Summer Phoenix.

“We’re all in this weird limbo of figuring out what’s next,” Dunn said, though she doesn’t think it spells the end of the wine industry since “people like to drink things, even with this curiosity of age.”

“If we can’t talk to more than one type of person, then we’ll always be in trouble.”