If we keep creating near insurmountable barriers to entry, can we really be surprised at the inevitable result?
As the global wine industry continues to struggle due to decreasing sales, many people are asking, why? It’s the wrong question.
The reality is, given the obstacles that the industry puts up, a better question to ask is, why does anyone get interested in wine? Here are seven reasons it’s a minor miracle.
1. Wine is a singularly intimidating subject.
Wine intimidates everybody. Even people who are experts in the field often feel that they don’t know as much as other experts. Imposter syndrome abounds! Imagine how consumers must feel. Actually, you don’t have to imagine. I’ll just tell you. They feel intimidated. People don’t like feeling intimidated.
2. Wine’s chalice is overflowing with snobbery.
People look down on what wines other people are drinking, when people are drinking them, how they are drinking them, and why they are drinking them. The gateway wine for tens of millions of Americans was Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers, yet wine lovers scorn gateways like this. Then we wonder why more people aren’t drinking wine.
NB: Wine intimidation and wine snobbery coexist in an endless feedback loop.
3. Wine generally comes in a single serving size.
Imagine if every time you went out to eat, you were given 2.5 times more than you wanted, the food didn’t keep well, and you had to pay for the pleasure. That’s what the wine industry does. There’s an entire cottage industry designed around the fact that wine comes in what is, for many, an inconvenient serving size. I like to think of that industry as wine Tupperware.
4. Wine is expensive, like really expensive.
Wine has priced itself out the conversation for most people, especially as wages stagnate. A glass of wine at a bar – which should be a major gateway to creating wine lovers – often costs two to three times what a beer would, and it always has. And we wonder why more people aren’t drinking wine?
5. Wine bottles in most cases require a special tool to open.
It’s likely that every wine lover has gone through a panicked search for a wine opener when traveling or has tried to think of creative ways to open a bottle sans an opener. (Here’s one example.) You’ve also likely been stopped at the airport for carrying such a device. It’s insanity.
6. Wine bottles have even more obstacles to opening them.
Wine capsules are trash put atop an infinitely recyclable glass bottle. They require a knife to get through. They cut people’s fingers. Sommeliers must be trained how to properly cut through them in front of guests. It makes one wonder, are there more ways we could increase the difficulty of opening a bottle of wine? Maybe add a code people need to enter? Code failure response: “Sorry. You are not worthy.”
7. We require people to have a weekday calendar and a vintage chart to enjoy wine.
Is there any other industry that tells people when they should not be enjoying their product? This wine is for special occasions. That wine is for Tuesday nights. This wine is really only meant as an aperitif. This wine should not be consumed for 25 years. People shouldn’t have to know what day of the week it is or what year to enjoy a glass of wine.
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The wine industry needs to change. It needs to lower its barriers to entry. It needs to create better gateways and onramps. It needs to make itself more accessible and inclusive. It also needs to do a better job of storytelling and engaging consumers about why wine is special.
It’s likely that everyone reading this has surmounted many of the barriers I have listed and has still become a wine lover. However, no one should take for granted that current generations or future generations will do the same.
Just as likely, they will turn their nose up at wine and decide that we’re all a bunch of snobs. And you know what? They just might be right.
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Aloha Sean,
Excellent summation of the situation!
All good points for consideration.
So true, the feelings of intimidation wreak havoc, especially on newer fans of wine.
If someone doesn’t have good friends or family to help them ease/break into the enjoyment of wine then beer and booze is often easier and cheaper to appreciate.
Thanks for putting this article together!
Great article.
All fair criticisms but my hope if that wine pairs so well with food that it will always be a part of our meals.
It seems like the wine industry is determined to price itself out of the market. Is it due to a sense of entitlement. Is it just an entrenched way of doing business? There’s no reason a glass of wine must cost 2-3 times the price of a beer. A premium wine, sure. But you don’t get premium wines in most bars and restaurants. Its a classic case of pricing yourself out of the market. Its also a classic window of opportunity for someone who makes boxed wines.
Its actually really expensive to produce wine at a small scale, regardless of the intended price point. The high cost of land, vineyard establishment costs, the 3 years before you get a crop, equipment etc piles up fast.
Beer on the other hand, has completely different agricultural economics. Even a small brewery is buying their grain and hops from large scale agricultural producers. Terroir is far less of a consideration of brewers, its all to do with the recipe. Thus brewers can essentially source from wherever the cheapest product is produced.
Good observations and discussion and I totally agree
Amen Sean! I’ve always said “wine should bring us all together, never push us away.” Thank you for keeping it real!
Addressing the problem of opening bottles has been solved. The screw cap is ubiquitous in Australia and my collection of fancy bottle openers is now redundant. Simply twist and serve!
Rob, I imagine a world where one doesn’t need a corkscrew to open a bottle of wine. Imagine if there were a way that you could just twist the top of a bottle, and the top would come right off! Better still, maybe you could twist it back on if you wanted to save some wine for later. Now that I think about it, wines with such a closure wouldn’t have any taint from the cork either because they wouldn’t use a cork. There would also be more uniformity in the resulting wines too, as a closure like this could be manufactured. It would be amazing! You may say I’m a dreamer…
Perhaps some day in the future, more wineries in the U.S. will catch up to where Aussies have been for decades, but if I keep going on like this someone will surely show up and take me away to the funny farm.
Really well done. I completely emphasize the fact, covered in several points above, that we still serve wine in the same manner and containers as in the late 1870s (cork and capsule-topped 750 ml bottle). What other product has so little adapted to the times?