This week’s news round-up challenges long-held assumptions across the global wine market. Fresh IWSR data officially shatters the narrative that Gen Z is avoiding alcohol, showing their participation rates catching up to older cohorts while aging Boomers quietly scale back. Meanwhile, domestic wineries are being forced to rethink traditional wine clubs in the face of widespread subscription fatigue. Internationally, the scope of wine tourism is expanding in wild directions—from Russia opening a sprawling, multi-hectare “wine Disneyland” in Gelendzhik to Portugal hosting subaquatic tastings for seabed-aged bottles. From shifting demographics to underwater cellars, the landscape is evolving fast.
James Bayley, writing for The Drinks Business, reports on new IWSR research that takes a wrecking ball to the single most repeated assumption in this industry. According to the latest Bevtrac survey, covering 15 key markets, 74 percent of legal drinking age Gen Z consumers now drink alcohol, against an overall adult participation rate of 76 percent. That is close to identical, and it is up sharply from 66 percent three years ago.
From the article:
Speaking about the findings, IWSR president and managing director Marten Lodewijks said: “The narrative that Gen Z is the generation of moderation is now conclusively debunked. While Gen Z consumers are creating new patterns for engaging with beverage alcohol, the evidence demonstrates that Gen Z consumers enjoy drinking at roughly the same levels as the rest of society.”
Boomers recorded the lowest participation rate of any generation at 71%, down two percentage points over the past three years. They also reported the fewest drinking occasions and consumed the smallest number of drinks per session, averaging 2.6 drinks.
Millennials remain the industry’s biggest drinking cohort, with an 81% participation rate, followed by Generation X on 77%.
Lodewijks said: “Boomer drinking has been tailing off for several years. These latest Bevtrac results, however, show bigger than expected drops in Boomer drinking across all major metrics. If this trend continues, it may actually be the Boomers, not Gen Z, who deserve the title ‘generation of moderation.’”
Really, or are they all just getting too old to drink anymore? Boomers are currently 62 to 80 years old. My guess is they are just slowing down.
From the article:
Wine clubs are still a big business for many wineries, accounting for 25% of sales channels in 2025, per Silicon Valley Bank’s Direct to Consumer Wine Report. But growth in recent years has slowed to a trickle, averaging 2% in 2024, down from 5% the year before and 11% in 2018. Some are rethinking the model—trading biannual bottle shipments for experiential discounts or merchandise. Others have abandoned it for more personalized approaches to fostering loyalty, like splashy, in-person wine release drops.
Generational changes are afoot, as wine-loving Baby Boomers age out of loading cases into their trunks and into retirement homes. Some Gen Xers are cutting back on or abstaining from wine altogether for health or financial reasons as they advance through middle age.
Gen Z, meanwhile, tends to treat wine as an accessory to experiences rather than something to accumulate. It’s also hard to ignore the effects of subscription fatigue in the era of recurring autopayments—for streaming services and meal kits, Substack newsletters, beauty boxes, and coffee. Some 58% of consumers have paused a subscription within the past year, according to Chargebee’s 2025 Global Consumer Insights Report.
Eugene Gerden, writing for The Drinks Business, reports on the opening of Bely Mys, meaning white cape, a 42,000 square meter wine complex on the seafront at the Black Sea resort city of Gelendzhik. The Insider has already dubbed it Putin’s wine Disneyland. The scale is hard to overstate. Across 4.2 hectares it holds 28 locations including 15 restaurants and bars, the three-level Lev Golitsyn Wine Museum, an enoteca claiming the most complete collection of Russian wine in existence, a wine academy, a testing and laboratory centre, a five-screen cinema, a theatre branch, an expocenter, tasting rooms, a registry office with sea views and a yacht dock. Who knew!
From the article:
The bigger industry context
Other projects in the pipeline
* Russia’s 2019 wine law prohibited calling a product “Wine of Russia” unless it was made exclusively (100%) from grapes grown on Russian soil. The law also mandated that only Russian-made sparkling wines could be called “Shampanskoye” (the Russian equivalent of Champagne), sparking international controversy, as it required French Champagne makers to label their bottles simply as “sparkling wine” when sold in Russia.
We will close somewhere more… accessible? Wine Business has a press release that covers the second edition of the Subaquatic Wine Tourism Experience in Sines, on Portugal’s Alentejo Coast, a two-day event built entirely around wines aged on the seabed.
From the article:
One of the highlights of the programme was the underwater diving experience coordinated by Joaquim Parrinha, from Adega do Mar / Centro Ecoalga. The activity gave participants, including national and international journalists, the opportunity to witness the recovery of bottles aged on the seabed and gain first-hand insight into the conditions in which this ageing process takes place, providing a unique experience and direct contact with one of the wine industry’s most innovative trends.
Another key moment of the event was the comparative tasting led by sommelier Rodolfo Tristão, who presented wines aged underwater alongside those aged on land. The session explored the differences in evolution, texture, freshness and complexity between the two ageing methods, encouraging valuable discussion among producers, professionals, academics and participants.
SCORIA Tasting Room in Boise, ID
SCORIA Vineyards is a family-owned Caldwell winery focused on estate-grown red varieties, including Malbec, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Its Sunnyslope property combines a multigenerational farming background, views toward the Owyhee Mountains, accessible tasting options, and a customizable allocation club.
Domaine William Fèvre Chablis 2023
The 2023 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis is a fresh, tightly structured Chardonnay built around lemon, green apple, pear, wet stone, and a light saline character. Estate-grown fruit, native-yeast fermentation, stainless-steel aging, and limited use of neutral oak keep the focus on acidity, fruit clarity, and regional character.
King’s Landing Bistro – Springdale, UT
King’s Landing Bistro serves seasonal American bistro cooking with French, Mediterranean, and Asian influences near Zion National Park. The compact menu favors composed starters and substantial entrées. A broad wine program supports the food. Large windows frame Springdale’s red-rock landscape, while a $30 corkage fee gives diners additional flexibility.
Corkage Fee: $30 Per Bottle / No Limit
Corkage Fee: $50 First Bottle/1 Bottle Per 2 People/ Fee decrease to $35 after first bottle
Chicago, IL
4.8 Stars with over 1091+ Reviews
The Duck Inn is a neighborhood gastro-tavern and dining room housed in a pre-Prohibition era tavern with a cozy retro design aesthetic that feels like home.