Whether you’re 18 or 88, here’s how to enjoy wine across the generational divide

In my past life, I used to be the very proud owner of a beautiful wine bar and shop in east London. It wasn’t in a particularly “fashionable” part of the city, like Hackney or Dalston, but it was my corner of London and I loved it.

It had the warmest feeling – which is pretty impressive for a railway arch at the end of a dead end. While the decor and heating helped that vibe, it was the people that really made it – and the wine, of course.

The thing I loved most about my customers was that they spanned all ages – from the achingly self-confident Gen Z-ers right through to the terribly named “silent generation”, and every generational category in between. We welcomed them all, aged 18-96 (I’m not exaggerating, my oldest customer was 96). Though they were separated by age, they all had something in common – their love of trying new and exciting wines.

But that could all be changing. I’ve increasingly noticed a panicked tone amongst the wine community, from wine producers to retailers. Their trepidation isn’t just about the broader decline in wine consumption but the fact that Gen Z aren’t really drinking much wine at all.

There’s a widely held assumption that there’s a generational shift among Gen Z and millennials like myself to drinking less and prioritising healthier lifestyle choices. In short, they are “picking up the slack” of the boomers when it comes to wine consumption.

Don’t get me wrong, drinking less is not a bad thing – quite the contrary – but I do wonder if the narrative that younger generations are eschewing wine is a bit of an oversimplification. Perhaps things aren’t too different now from how they’ve always been.

Yes, there’s a greater interest in “wellness” nowadays but when I was in my early twenties, I was far more likely to drink spirits, cocktails and beer than wine, as were all my peers. Wine was just one part of a vast kaleidoscope of booze options.

I realise my anecdotal experience of business ownership isn’t entirely scientific but I do think it suggests something very clearly – that perhaps we shouldn’t be obsessed with the age of wine drinkers (unless of course, they’re underage). There is a risk that if you focus on one cohort only, you ignore your established customer base, and indeed older consumers who may be on their own voyage of vinous discovery. We need to remember that tastes change – someone who doesn’t drink wine at one point in their life can, after all, change their mind later on.

When it came to an openness to try new wines outside of their comfort zone, it made no difference if my customers were young or old – all you needed was a willingness to experiment in a welcoming (and very unserious) environment. My wine bar wasn’t a stuffy old boys’ club.

Some of my most adventurous consumers who loved wild, natural wines that were redolent of a march through a farmyard, or orange wines made with over 100 days of skin contact, were well above the age that people are “supposed” to be interested in such products. I never made assumptions or judgements about someone’s tastes based on their age.

Perhaps the real problem isn’t about there being fewer younger wine drinkers – it’s that the wine industry needs to broaden the ways in which it engages with consumers of all ages. A “one size fits all” approach rarely has good outcomes.

Wine has immense power to bring people together. Ultimately, it’s no good putting us all into little polarised boxes. After all, there is great joy to be found over a glass of wine, sharing experiences with people of all ages, younger and older, together.

Rosamund Hall (DipWSET) is a freelance writer and wine and drinks specialist