Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 30

Jason Smith Burns Pinot Noir Vineyard, Closing 51-Year Family Winery as U.S. Wine Sales Hit 20-Year Low

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 30

Jason Smith Burns Pinot Noir Vineyard, Closing 51-Year Family Winery as U.S. Wine Sales Hit 20-Year Low

Q: As California growers burn their vineyards, what alternative beverage is secretly stealing the loyalty of the next generation?

The main drinks drawing younger consumers away from wine are ready-to-drink canned beverages—especially canned cocktails and hard seltzers—with nonalcoholic options and, increasingly, THC drinks also taking share. The reporting on California’s wine slump points to a generational shift: younger legal-age drinkers are moving toward beverages that feel easier, lighter, and more occasion-specific than a bottle of wine. Industry coverage repeatedly cites canned cocktails, hard seltzers, and other RTDs as major competitors, while nonalcoholic beers and spirits are benefiting from the broader moderation trend. In more recent market reporting, THC-infused drinks have also emerged as a fast-growing substitute for some consumers who are cutting back on alcohol. Among those alternatives, canned cocktails stand out as one of the clearest growth categories. U.S. spirits and retail data show premixed cocktails growing even as broader alcohol categories weaken, helped by convenience, familiar flavors, and lower-commitment single-serve packaging. Hard seltzers remain especially attractive to younger drinkers seeking lower-calorie, portable options. So the “secret” stealing loyalty from the next generation is not one single beverage as much as a shift toward convenient alternatives to traditional wine. If one category best captures the change, it is canned RTDs—especially canned cocktails and hard seltzers—supplemented by rising interest in alcohol-free drinks and THC beverages.

1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 30

Jason Smith, 57, tore out and burned a pinot noir vineyard in Soledad, California, then decided to sell all his land and shut down the family winery his business had run for 51 years.
U.S. wine demand has fallen so far that California wineries produced less wine last year than at any point in the past 25 years, leaving unsold bottles piled up in storerooms and shops.
That glut has crushed vineyard economics: for some growers, it is now cheaper to let grapes rot on the vine than to pay to harvest them.
Nationwide sales are at their lowest level in more than two decades as health warnings curb drinking and younger consumers shift toward canned cocktails, seltzers and nonalcoholic drinks.

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The New York Times21d ago

California Winemaker Jason Smith Burns Pinot Noir Vineyard Amid Record Low Sales

As California growers burn their vineyards, what alternative beverage is secretly stealing the loyalty of the next generation?

With wine consumption plummeting globally by 2026, will surviving premium brands become luxury items exclusively for the wealthy?

Could the mass destruction of California's historic vineyards actually be a hidden blessing for the state's environmental future?

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1 total

The New York Times21d ago

California Winemaker Jason Smith Burns Pinot Noir Vineyard Amid Record Low Sales

Jason Smith Burns Pinot Noir Vineyard, Closing 51-Year Family Winery as U.S. Wine Sales Hit 20-Year Low

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