Will There Be No Wine in the Future of Young People?

 There were times when wine seemed to know no obstacles, undisputed emperor of thoughts and glasses of countless consumers and enthusiasts, regardless of age – the one considered as legal, of course – gender, social background and economic condition. Wine was the preferred subject of most of the people, in particular at the table, as well as in “private occasions” and in public gatherings. Very often we ended up having endless dissertations on the wine which we had at that moment in the glass, often dreaming of having another totally different one, however necessarily being happy with the bottle which was on the table. And most of the time, more than one. This didn't just happen on “private” occasions, but also when you were in company at a table in a restaurant or wine bar. It was something concerning everyone, including young people, obviously of the age allowing the legal consumption of alcoholic beverages. It was done in moderation – at least as far as I was concerned – because, in wine, we did not see just a drink to be “simply drunk”, but the expression of a culture and knowledge that was considered seriously and with respect, a shared beverage and meant to be shared.

 Times have obviously passed by, wine has changed, we have changed, of course factors, conditions and the relationship of people with wine have changed as well. Including young people. For many years we have continued to talk about the relationship of the new generations with wine and – apparently – this relationship punctually and cyclically experiences moments of ups and downs. The future, in this sense, would seem to see the relationship of young people with wine even further distant. A condition that, apparently, already started a few years ago, and it doesn't seem, at the moment, that there could be a sudden new love at first sight or renewed passion. The young generation and, apparently, also the future ones, seem to be more interested in the consumption of other alcoholic beverages, especially beer which seems to have established a solid bond with them. Of course, compared to past times, beer has benefited from a development, also qualitative, decidedly unimaginable twenty years ago, at least for mass-market beers.

 This is also thanks to – but not limited to – the excellent job done by the countless so-called “artisan” breweries, which in recent years have flourished and grown almost everywhere in the world. Many of them have undeniably been capable of creating beers of high quality and which have joined the production – present for decades, albeit “niche” – of the historic breweries, in particular those of Northern Europe. Because, it must be said, good and huge quality beer has always existed, despite having been, so to speak, drowned by the ocean of mass production. Something happened, in many respects, also in the wine and food industry in general. After all, it is a simple law of the market: the greater the offer of products, economic potential and profit, the greater the competition. Last but not least, this also happens in any other sector. The number of wineries existing today – in quantity – is unimaginable if we compare it to that of twenty years ago. And each of them makes wine with the same goal: to sell and make a profit at the expense of all the others. Mors tua vita mea. (Your death, my life)

 As for the fact, then, that young people consume less wine, suggesting they are in favor of a “healthier lifestyle”, therefore reducing alcohol consumption, it should be noted that, in reality, this is not the case at all, although this may have pleased someone. Young people consume alcohol, and sometimes even in “worrying” quantities, especially in the form of beer and spirits. Admittedly, alcohol is alcohol anyway, regardless of its origin or production: it makes no difference whether it is contained in wine or in any other beverage. After all, it is the sum that makes the total. The sum, indeed. Because if it is true that beer is – and will probably be in the future – the alcoholic beverage most consumed by young people, it must also be said that its consumption does not stop at just one glass, rather several bottles. Considering, not least, the economic factor, as four bottles of “mass-market” beer cost, on average, much less than one bottle of “modest” wine, however the quantity of alcohol consumed is greater.

 If current estimates see young people consume less wine – preferring other alcoholic beverages – the trend for the future could be even more negative, towards a progressive and inexorable lack of interest. On the occasion of the last general assembly of the Unione Italiana Vini (UIV, Italian Wine Union), it was underlined that in the immediate future the trend in the demand for wine will progressively decrease. The cause would be to be found in the progressive increase in the average age and the lack of interest for wine in new generations. The immediate forecast is for an increase in the consumption rate of just 7%, with an estimated average annual growth of 0.35%, a forecast which is believed to be valid until 2039. According to the Observatory of Unione Italiana Vini, in the future, exports will progressively represent the fundamental discriminating factor of the market, forecasting an estimated decrease in domestic consumption of -1.2 million hectoliters.

 The study conducted by UIV analyzed the trends relating to the progressive aging of consumers. If in the decade 1990/1999 the consumption of the over 65 population and the under 25 population was in perfect parity – about 18% – a drastic decrease is forecast for the decade ending in 2039. At that time, in fact, it is expected to see the population over 65 representing 30% of consumption, while the population under 25 will drop to 13%. The same forecast should also take place in the other main European wine producing countries – Italy, France, Spain and Germany – thus confirming the current and progressive downward trend. Habits and consumption have changed in all these countries since the 1960s, when the Italians and French registered a per capita consumption of 140 litres. Regardless of these estimates and figures, the progressive disinterest of young people in wine is something that has been noticed since many years now. And it should be emphasized that it is not a matter of their lack of interest in alcohol intake, given that young people willingly consume other alcoholic beverages, especially beer and spirits.

 Personally – from what I see, read and hear – it is the result derived from the way wine has been treated and considered in the last ten years, more or less. In this period, in fact, we witnessed the rise of “mediocre wine storytellers”, who, not possessing any wine culture and expertise, started a trivial and superficial writing style, arguing, no less, the communication of wine had to be “simplified”, made easy (and you know, in Italy when you use English everything becomes more “easy”, indeed ”eezee”, like the Italians pronounce it) just to make wine appealing to young people and promoting its consumption. The strategy – of which producers must be considered accomplices and guilty because have easily fallen under the spell of the easy communication revolution – has produced a detachment of interest from young people towards wine. To me, this is the obvious consequence. Simplification is nothing more than the trivialization of a concept, stripping it of everything and in the end nothing remains, just a trivial easy drink like any other easy drink. Wine has been trivialized to the level of cheeky and easy-to-drink beverage: just uncork and drink, just like what you would do with any non-alcoholic drink or soda pop, then be happy, carefree and easy.

 Furthermore, by considering no one is “foolish” – especially young people – when a consumer decides to have an easy drink look at what he or she has in the pockets and then make a decision. Why, unless he or she has a genuine interest, should the young consumer choose an easy wine when with a tenth of its price, and even less, can be bought an equally easy drink? Not to mention, even more than one? If wine is degraded to the level of a carefree and careless beverage, like any other drink – not to mention, a deplorable attitude, given that wine is an alcoholic beverage – one cannot therefore complain the wine has been ignored for the fact it is more expensive. Not to mention, those who, in adopting this type of commercial and promotional policy, never fail to emphasize that wine, even in the shiny and bewitching young and easy version, is culture, tradition, quality and all the well-known fairy tales that often follow. It doesn't work and the young people are proving it to you. Why should they prefer wine, in the fascinating guise of easy drink, anonymous and ordinary wines, when the competition in that market is capable of offering winning alternatives at a decidedly lower price and, above all, just as “easy”, indeed, undeniably much easier?