Why ‘Quality Over Quantity’ Is Good for the Wine Industry

As countless headlines and Reddit threads will tell you, modern wine businesses face an array of evolving social , economic , and environmental challenges . But the drink-less-but-better movement isn’t an existential threat. It’s proof that many people who are cutting back are still interested in wine and eager to make the most out of every glass or bottle they try. Armchair analysts who bemoan generational shifts and elegize consumption data tend to ignore this crucial detail: People who are drinking wine are doing so more skillfully and thoughtfully than ever before. That’s not a silver lining so much as lightning in a bottle. The only question is whether there’s enough time for it to ignite.

“There’s been a steady evolution in the way people drink wine,” says Jamie Ritchie, the managing director of international auctions at Berry Bros. & Rudd in Washington, D.C. In previous decades, many collectors would purchase multiple cases from known regions or producers without investigating their preferences or looking beyond the usual suspects. These days, “people are more curious and willing to experiment,” he says. “The curiosity goes across generations. There’s a gravitation at all levels and at all ages for people to understand a bit about what they’re drinking and get excited about different things.”

Chase Sinzer agrees. The owner of Claud , Stars , and Penny in New York City has observed a sea change in the ways people approach wine lists. In the 2010s, guests at restaurants where he worked would come in and say, “‘I know what I want, and it’s going to be Bordeaux or Brunello , and I’d like to spend this amount of money, and I don’t want anyone to talk to me,’” he recalls. “That same person now goes, ‘Can you please give me a few options? I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.’” Ritchie links some of the open-mindedness and exploratory zeal to the effects of the pandemic. During shutdowns, many people studied wine . When hospitality businesses reopened, they shed their sweatpants, went out to bars and restaurants, and were eager to taste everything that the wide world of wine had to offer. Like their customers, retailers experienced these discovery trends, too.

This same time period coincided with an enduring emphasis on moderation over excess . “Everyone is drinking less, for health reasons or generally for interest in living a more balanced life,” says Ritchie. That’s not a death knell, either. It’s a call to action. When someone is more knowledgeable and curious about what they drink, they can investigate each purchase to tailor it to their tastes and budgets. These are prime conditions to create lasting relationships with wine—ones with more long-term benefits than intermittent, happy-hour binges.

This all presents an opportunity for sommeliers, salespeople, and other wine professionals to meet people where they are and cultivate their curiosity. It’s a chance to learn from and avoid the knee-jerk anti-Merlot or Anything But Chardonnay sentiments of previous eras that led many folks to write off entire categories or wine itself without a second thought (or glass). “We’re making up for previous sins of sommeliers of different generations now,” Sinzer says. Besides, in the current economic moment, few of us are sitting on mountains of surplus cash to throw at lackluster wine. Trading multiple mediocre glasses for something you really love aligns with the way many people spend. They might be willing to shell out a few extra dollars for one great glass or bottle from a producer who shares their values, if consumer behaviors in fair-trade coffee , organic produce , and thrifted versus fast fashion are any indication.

A quality-over-quantity mindset creates new and better points of access to wine, Liu says. “People are willing to spend $15 on something good and only have one bottle that night, rather than spend $15 on a case of poorly made beverages without thinking about it,” he says. “That’s actually helping the industry in a lot of ways because you have a new entry to the market that’s not garbage.” Meaningful change takes time, and many grape growers, winemakers, and retailers need the market to rebound yesterday. But wine is a long game, too. After 8,000 years, how we think about, make, and drink it continues to evolve. Even if you only have one pour on any given night, that glass is still half-full.

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