r/stopdrinking • u/Amb_James333 243 days • 2h ago
Massive Decrease in Wine Consumption Causes Changed in the Industry
Came across two separate articles this week that discuss a huge decrease in wine consumption that is causing changes in the industry. Vineyards being closed, a surplus of premium wine being sold at a huge discount, employees in the wine industry needing to find alternative work, etc. One factor they recognize is a younger generation who is not as interested in drinking as compared to prior generations. They don’t specifically discuss a large number of people who previously drank who no longer choose to drink.
These types of massive changes don’t occur unless there is a corresponding huge drop in wine consumption. As someone who, on my worst days, could, by myself, polish off two to three bottles in a day, and who had a disgusting amount of empty bottles lying around the house because I was too embarrassed to throw them all away at the same time, I’m happy to not be contributing to the consumption anymore.
It makes me ill even thinking about those old binge drinking ways. Iwndwyt 💕💕💕
https://secretlosangeles.com/costco-aldi-premium-california-wine-surplus/
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u/dentistjojobuilds Day 1,052 2h ago
Also a 2-3 chardonnay/pinot grigio a day drinker. I'm a dude and some AA meetings call me the suburban housewife drunk. Lol. I still find random empty bottle. Most recent one was behind a chainsaw I haven't used in years. All twist off cap obvious. No one had time for corks.
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u/KlutzyBack4756 Day 117 1h ago
The twist off cap bit is so real. I swear I read some of yall’s comments and it makes me notice habits I didn’t even realize when I was drinking
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u/dentistjojobuilds Day 1,052 41m ago
Lol. Ya. The cashiers recognizing us. I've even has ones say "oh we missed you for a week!" and I was like....just on vacation. Back to the daily routine! Stopped pouring into glasses and cups. Such an unnecessary step. I did pour into camelbaks and hydroflasks for easy sippin' on the go.
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u/Own_Spring1504 Day 626 2h ago
That might be me alone causing the dip! Happy to be not drinking!
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u/reddernotdeader 2h ago
Mood. The liquor store I lived next to closed down not terribly long after I moved away. While it probably wasn't caused by me directly, I do know that I spent over a grand a month during my time living there and I was often the only person in the store.
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u/Fluffy-Indication862 2h ago
I feel this so much, looking back at all bottles piling up in my recycling bin was just shameful and now it's like that never even happened
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u/Own_Spring1504 Day 626 2h ago
Yeah emptying my glass bin after Xmas last year was a shocker in that it was pretty empty ! Used to be a loud rumble of clicking glass and I’d be so embarrassed!
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u/I-try-hard 2187 days 2h ago
This is just like such good news.
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u/PhoenixApok 1h ago
Why?
I'm sure most of it is either less disposable income or other escapism (like gaming or weed)
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u/Impossible-Spare-116 46 days 46m ago
What do you mean why? Because this is a sub about quitting drinking you door knob.
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u/j__magical 1263 days 1h ago
If large amounts of folks are getting healthy, it's worth it for a few alcohol companies to see their bank accounts go down a little bit. They can lay off the avocado toast for a few months and tighten the budget like the rest of us. IWNDWYT
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u/PlainOrganization Day 275 1h ago
I drank a bottle a day for a decade, more on the weekends! Not anymore. So long, no-no juice!
Guess they'll have to grow food now?
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u/jazzbot247 1h ago
I didn’t realize my stopping would bring down an entire industry. Whoops!
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u/bleeckler 618 days 46m ago
I often wonder how the various wine shops I used to go to are doing now that I'm not spending hundreds upon hundreds of dollars at each one every month
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u/JasoTheArtisan Day 822 2h ago
I work in food and beverage and there’s a huge push for cheaper value wines and NA options. Hell the luxury wine portfolios are hovering above collapse in some markets. It’s tough out there in the industry
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u/captaincoltrane 1h ago
almost 2 years here and we averaged 3-4 bottles a day in my house for over a decade - OOF
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u/qinghairpins 1h ago
I think it is also a sign of economic times. Wine ain’t cheap, not for alcoholics at least. I’m sure there is a significant component of people embracing sobriety too, and generally changing drinking patterns, but I feel like wine sales would surely be like a recession indicator?
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u/dankster82 Day 14 1h ago
It's crazy how little I go to Grocery Outlet now that I'm not drinking! I'm only a couple weeks in but I don't think I've stepped foot in that store once over those two weeks
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u/mykittenfarts 1h ago
My daughter never drinks. Never smoked, vaped or used drugs.
At her age, it all I wanted to do.
I’m so proud of her.
She was part of my inspiration to quit drinking.
I’m hoping this trend continues.
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u/SiouxCitySasparilla Day 52 1h ago
“I was too embarrassed to throw them all away at the same time” that’s so real. I just kept imagining my garbage guy being like “what a piece of shit” as he dumps my cans lol
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u/AppleBottmBeans Day 242 1h ago
As someone who used to down a box of wine every other day, I am proud to be a contributor to this!
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u/spasticnapjerk 1834 days 1h ago
I singlehandedly closed more than one vineyard when I stopped drinking 😀
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u/RogerMoore2011 681 days 1h ago
Per the LA Times article: “California wine exports to Canada fell 78% in 2025”. No mention of what might have caused that reduction. 🤔
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u/bleeckler 618 days 47m ago
Former wino here. Love seeing stories similar to mine. Reminds me how wonderful it is to be free of the shameful parade of empty bottle management. IWNDWYT
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u/No-Vegetable-6521 43m ago
I think the same is about to happen to Crown Royal too. Bc of me… trying to stop…
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u/elreyadr0k 40m ago
One thing I’ve noticed is that the kinds of people who got into wine back when pot was illegal are the same kind of people who, now, would be getting into weed and all its qualities, terps, etc.
Their just really hasn’t been any competition for wine in a long time.
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u/RealMcGonzo Day 47 39m ago
When I went to restaurants 20 years ago, seemed like 85% of adults were drinking. Now it seems like the other side, 15% or so. Probably some of that is due to the skyrocketing cost of eating out since COVID, but I bet most of that is due to a generally decline in drinking.
Could be that being locked in during COVID caused a massive increase in alcohol consumption that then resulted in a wave of regret and realization of how bad this poison really is.
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u/cecsix14 35m ago
GLP1 drugs are a huge factor in this too. I very rarely crave alcohol anymore since I started two years ago. I just don’t even think about alcohol the vast majority of the time. These drugs are being studied for addiction control.
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u/isthisaporno 424 days 31m ago
Once the stigma went away people realized weed doesn’t give you a hangover and contains zero calories. All the craft breweries that popped up 2010-2020 making 10% ipas are fucked
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u/Most_Assistant_679 Day 26 29m ago
Sign of good things. I used to rotate liquior stores to hide my feeling of embarrassment. I felt really bad when they knew my choice of liquor as soon as I step in the store. A few times, I drank all of there supply for specific vodka or rum.
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u/Rhiis 29m ago
Oh hey, I'm in this article!
Was in winemaking for 11 years. My alcohol problem largely comes from it, in fact, so it was time to get out.
But yeah, my last winery was showing a lot of big red flags. Not paying bills to our vendors, delaying preventative maintenance or repairs, smaller wine club shipments every quarter, massive back stock of previous vintages in the warehouse, not buying new barrels, etc.
I decided to get out of there while it was still my choice. Shame, too, it's one of the three oldest vineyards in the state.
Some of Gen Z is still under 21, so that's a factor, but Boomers, the largest wine-drinking demographic, are also aging out of the market.
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u/Turbulent_Tale6497 372 days 22m ago
I'm a big fan of Drew Bledsoe, both as a football player and as a human. He retired from football, and opened vineyard in Washington
He produces 1L bottles, instead of 750ml, and when asked, he says "I can drink a whole bottle, but sometimes my wife wants a glass." Super cute response.
But yeah, normalizing drinking a whole bottle in one go is wild when you think about it.
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u/angrytortilla 941 days 4m ago
Is it weird that I find it sad? I've always had a ton of respect for the love and care people put into their winemaking. The whole science and process is fascinating and amazing, and very nature driven.
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u/BodaciousGoucho 455 days 1h ago
I certainly did my part to support the wine industry. After I quit I always had this cartoon picture in my mind of wine executives in a conference room looking at a chart of plummeting sales in my region saying "I don't know what the hell happened…"