Sobering thoughts (pardon the pun) on Millenials' wine consumption

There are reasons to think that wine consumption will slowly decline in the US, according to this article by Rob McMillan.

Crushing student loans are keeping Millennials from owning homes at the same rate as Boomers when they were that age. This means that Millennials don't/won't have as many wine cellars to fill as Boomers do. And, because premium hard liquor is a bit cheaper than premium wine, thrifty Millennials tend to drink the hard stuff instead. And the anti-alcohol movement is momentarily succeeding in vilifying all alcohol, using bad science to dispute the long-proved notion that moderate wine consumption has health benefits.

All this, coupled with the aging of the Boomers, will tend to reduce wine consumption in the US. Wineries need to be careful about expanding, and lower-cost premium wines may win out over wines that are clearly-overpriced.  Epona (both the winery and the virtual wine shop) focuses on making/finding good wines at lower prices, and so we hope we're well-positioned for these trends. Three Epona wines just won Double Gold, Silver, and Silver at the state's-best Seattle Wine Awards. And of course we're one of the most-sustainable "Green" wineries in the country, with modern grape varieties that are grown organically and never need spray or netting, that don't see fruit having to be trucked over the mountains, to get wine to consumers. And we are 100% powered by solar energy. You just cant get more "Green" than that!

The Top Fifty Red Winegrapes

A new "Coffee Table Book"  is out, on the 50 most-important red winegrapes, and one of the lauded grapes is a modern variety (Baco Noir)! It's not my personal favorite--there are so many good modern grape varieties now--but it is a huge step in the right direction.

Saying that you like wine, but also believing there are no good modern varieties of winegrapes, is like saying you are an expert on cars but you haven't heard of the Chevrolet Corvette or the Toyota Camry.

Red Wine: The Comprehensive Guide to the 50 Essential Varieties & Styles

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Wine-Comprehensive-Essential-Varieties/dp/1454918233/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1514740842&sr=1-1&keywords=red+wine

I agree that the conventional wisdom is slowly changing, as it always must, in the face of new truth. Drat that it changes so slowly. But drip drip drip goes the water, falliing fruitlessly upon the giant rock of ignorance, and one day we marvel that the rock is gone.

Cooper Blooper

Makers of wine barrels have seen sales fall over 20%, due to a worldwide trend towards unoaked wines.

Here is an article about it.

But using barrels introduces many possible headaches: leaks, infections, high cost, need to throw away after a few years and buy new. I prefer to add the oak to the wine instead! That is also more "green" as it uses much less oak.

Of course, the ability of a "cooper" is truly amazing. The construction of wine barrels is a very complex process requiring a high level of skill.