My ideas for the March beverage cover story started forming during a conversation with my friend Kevin O’Sullivan about the intersection of wine and art. I had called him, as I had a few other industry contacts, in the days leading up to the Georgia market’s biggest annual intersection of wine and art, the High Museum Wine Auction (see sidebar), to ask about the current buzz in the wine world: What trends are emerging, and what are people talking about?
I had expected the usual list of wine types to watch out for, market trends that might do well in retail but not restaurants, post-COVID sales forecasting. But what unfolded during my chats with Kevin and other industry peers was an eye-opening exploration of wine as art, a deep dive into the real meaning of the often-used term ‘inclusion,’ a dissection of the changing tastes of younger wine consumers, and what really needs to happen to make the wine industry more sustainable. Whoa.
The overall picture was one I wasn’t expecting, but one that was ultimately very gratifying and that offered some hopeful fresh perspectives and ideas about new ways we can do business around wine.
More Artistry, Less Technical Talk
“Wine is so akin to art,” Kevin says, before he begins weaving a comparison between the work of Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the papal patronage of the clos vineyards in Burgundy and Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
We talked about movements in pop culture, music and the art world, and also in the wine industry, how sometimes a movement will only briefly challenge the status quo, and how sometimes a seeming flash-in-the-pan movement will stick. We just don’t always know which is which at the time.
During 2020, Kevin, who is Director of Sales for Prime Wine & Spirits, joined Erin Dougherty, associate director of public programs at the High Museum, for some talks about wine and art that were available to the public over Zoom while the museum was closed to visitors due to COVID restrictions. Erin had invited other wine industry luminaries to participate, such as Andre Mack, winemaker for Maison Noir and owner of & Son’s Ham Bar in Brooklyn, and Deneen Brown, of Brown Estates winery, who paired a work of art from the museum’s collection with one of her wines.
She invited Kevin to participate in the talks because she had witnessed the animated way he talked about wine with restaurant staffs during their pre-shift lineups. She realized those in restaurants have a different perspective about wine, and she drew the comparison to attending a museum talk in which the artist explains their method, or listening to a docent give historical context while viewing an art exhibit.
We laughed about how much more fun and engaging pre-shift tastings can be for your service team when you compare a wine’s flavors to the little cellophane-wrapped strawberry candies your grandmother used to have, or when you equate a luscious, buttery Chardonnay to a bleached blonde wearing red lipstick, as Kevin often does.
“Wine and art both can seem very intimidating to a lot of people. But if you talk to the right people, they aren’t going to make you feel bad about not knowing anything. I work in the education department, so that feels really important to me,” she says.
“If you want to figure out how to make wine less fussy, less exclusive or excluding, and more appealing to younger, future wine lovers, we need to change how we talk about wine,” says Chris Blackburn, general manager and wine buyer for Atlanta restaurant Lyla Lila.
From line-ups for the service team to discussions of the list tableside, appealing to young people demands “less technical talk and more about the story behind the wine, the maker of the wine, the ‘why’ this wine is special,” he adds.
The removal of the intimidation factor is at the heart of the wine industry’s hot-button topic du jour: inclusion.
“Wine and art are both things you need an audience for,” Erin agrees. “You can make art in your studio, and if no one gets to see it, it’s very sad. The museum exists to bring people together. Wine exists to bring people together. Removing barriers is what we talk about in my department. How can we remove barriers to get people access to these things? How do we get people in the door?”
Opening the Door to Young Wine Lovers
Marketers in the wine industry are currently very worried about the idea of getting people in the door, particularly young people.
The 2023 Silicon Valley Bank State of the Wine Industry Report echoes what we’ve been hearing from numerous other publications (The Drinks Business, The Robb Report, etc.) for the last few years: Young people aren’t drinking wine like their elders did. The only growth category for wine sales was for those 60 and over, with the largest growth in the 70-80 age bracket. The number of people under 40 who drink wine monthly has fallen.
Rob McMillan, executive vice president and founder of SVB’s wine practice and author of the report, said during a panel discussion about his report, “Whatever we are doing to promote brands to a younger consumer, I would argue we should stop right now because it’s not helping.”
But does the fact that less so-called ‘starter’ wine, or wine under $15 a bottle, is selling to Millennials and Gen Z really mean that the wine industry is in crisis? Or could it be that we are seeing a renaissance of sorts, a return to a world in which wine is not a commodity to be bartered, but art to be enjoyed?
“I don’t think we are seeing a crisis as much as we are seeing a correction,” says Josh Ardizzoni, former sommelier at Marcel in Atlanta, now Director of Service for Rocket Farm Restaurants.
“Anecdotally, I can tell you that wine sales are on the rise in my company’s restaurants. I credit that to the investment we’ve made in certain values.” Josh says he and his colleagues share a philosophy of what constitutes worthwhile wine: a focus on farming and a focus on mindfulness in production. These values just so happen to be values that analysts say the younger generations use to influence their buying decisions.
“We make our decisions based on where we think wine producers are allocating their capital to improve the ecosystem, including the wine ecosystem. I can feel a shift in priorities for restaurant buyers. Across the city, the idea of choosing wines that will easily sell and that you can mark up so many times is increasingly less important than choosing wines with an ethos,” Josh says.
The philosophy at Lyla Lila echoes this sentiment, and it earned the restaurant a James Beard Award nomination this year for Best Wine and Beverage Program. Chris Blackburn told me that Lyla Lila’s list only features organic and/or biodynamic wines, and, like Josh, he “seeks out producers who make great decisions in the vineyard to reduce their impact on the earth.”
Changing the Game
Despite his ethics, Josh says that being a wine buyer at a fine dining restaurant with a sought-after wine list meant he would constantly receive pitches from distributors and suppliers alike, trying to get placements on his list. A subsequent brief stint on the distributor side offered him a glimpse into the mindset of wine marketers that he was not fond of, so he went back to the restaurant industry.
“The old school way of doing things was that suppliers would go to market and throw money around, and they would get placements on wine lists,” he says. “Their return on investment with that tactic has diminished with the new way many buyers are doing things in restaurants.”
Josh’s observations were echoed by another industry peer I talked to. While he asked to remain nameless, due to his company’s policy on being quoted in print, he says that the younger generation frustrates marketers, because they are not brand-loyal like their parents were. With proliferation of products to choose from, including spirits, craft beers, hard seltzers and kombucha, choosing just one favorite is a foreign concept to most people under 40.
“They don’t stay in their lane, so they don’t have the influence as a group that we are used to seeing from the older generation,” he says.
Josh attributes this shift in habits to a shift in priorities between generations. “There is a clear and observable willingness in a younger restaurant guest to hear a story about a product that the older generation doesn’t have time for.”
Chris Blackburn agrees. “Older more established guests will buy wine solely on reputation and will pay what the market demands. We’ve seen this in Burgundy; prices have soared. I’ve found my younger buyers seem more interested in value associated with the story behind the wine, the process, and relating the wine to the person producing it.”
Josh agrees that younger restaurant guests are eager to hear stories, such as the social sustainability initiatives at Stolpman, for example, and they will make buying decisions based on the worthiness of the brand’s methods.
“Older guests drive the conversation with ‘I drink Rombauer,’ whereas younger guests are more likely to say, ‘I have $100 to spend. What’s the coolest wine I can buy?’”
The idea of sustainability has been shown to influence the wine-buying decisions of the younger generations, where perhaps it didn’t matter to their parents or grandparents. Blackburn told me that the overall goal at Lyla Lila is to honor the classics and introduce some fun and fresh wines that people need to be aware of.
“What’s old has become new again. I’m speaking of farming practices. Wines that are made in a natural and ‘least intervention’ style have been very popular over the last couple of years,” he says. “It’s pretty cool to introduce a centuries-old wine producer to a person brand new to wine and show them that the producer has been farming responsibly since their inception. Not for clout, not for a label, that was just how they farmed.”
Diversity Drives Decision
Josh also points out the lifestyle differences between generations. Whereas the older generation may have a drink every day, younger people might not.
“Their lifestyle is so much more diversified. They may work from home part of the week; they may prioritize their health and fitness and decide not to drink at all most days. Also, young people are facing some grave economic challenges right now. Higher rents, inflation, the price of groceries. They would rather not buy wine at all than buy wine at a gas station.”
Josh acknowledges that restaurant wine lists still have a place for higher-end cult wines and established legacy brands, such as Screaming Eagle and Harlan Estates. Part of the diversity demanded in writing a successful restaurant wine list is the inclusion of items that appeal to all segments of your customer base.
Chris points out that a big part of the inclusion picture is not making assumptions. “Unless I personally know a guest, I have no idea of their personal wealth. The kid in a hoodie and Jordans could be a billionaire, while the guy in Armani might be living check to check,” he says. “We work very hard to provide offerings to accommodate every guest’s palate and budget. Quality can be found in a $30 bottle of wine if you know what to look for (looking at you Corsica).”
My anonymous source told me that even though the tides are shifting, he still sees the better-known brands outselling the geekier wines 10 to 1.
“I have been in this industry for 30 years, and I try to remind younger buyers that those spending money in their dining room are still mostly 45-60, and they will spend on the $300 large format of Quintessa.”
Wine sales may be down overall by volume, he says, but wine is doing the same numbers in dollars, due to higher sales at the top end. “It used to be that it took an established brand years to get to a point where they charge $30 a bottle wholesale. Now you have these cult wines coming out of the gate at $150 a bottle, and they are selling out.”
Regardless, Josh sees buyers across the city that are increasingly willing to hold their own against the sales tactics of the old guard wine industry. He thinks that older wine brands are facing a true disruption because of the new mindset of many buyers in the restaurant industry.
“To reach the younger generation we need to adapt,” Chris says. “The modern and younger consumer is more apt to buy the person, not the product. If you want to reach the younger buyers, put a face and name to the product.”
“Restaurants are making the same decisions that younger consumers are. We no longer are tethered to the old system,” Josh says about the current state of restaurant wine lists in Atlanta. “No one gets to come in and merchandise my wine list anymore. It’s my wine list.
“The younger clientele appreciates that in a big way,” he adds. “The old guard are the dinosaurs. Young people are the meteor.”
Lara Creasy is Beverage Director for Rocket Farm Restaurants, overseeing 11 Superica locations in four states. She loves all things beverage from tea to tequila, coffee to cocktails, whiskey to wine, and gets to make a living at it.
