How Gen Z Is Redefining What It Means to Drink Wine Today

Gen Z’s approach to alcohol has evolved over the years, influenced by new alternatives, tighter budgets, and a different sense of what drinking should be. Wine is no longer the default choice; ready-to-drink cans, spirits, and nonalcoholic options are easier to understand and purchase. According to NielsenIQ’s Generations on Tap report, Gen Z accounts for just 9% of wine-buying households, and their purchases tend to be deliberate rather than habitual — 56% are pre-planned, and only 30% are intended for casual home enjoyment.

But participation among Gen Z has started to rebound, and lighter styles are leading the way. According to the Wine Market Council’s 2025 U.S. Wine Consumer Benchmark Segmentation Survey, Gen Z’s share of wine drinkers climbed from 9% to 14% in the past two years, and they are drinking wine more frequently than before.

The question facing producers: How do you meet Gen Z where they are, not where wine has traditionally been?

Inside the tasting rooms Gen Z actually wants

Sparkling wine in particular is holding up. According to IWSR, an authority on drinks industry data, Millennials and Gen Z have stopped waiting for weddings or promotions to pop a bottle — they’re enjoying Prosecco or flavored fizz with takeout on a Tuesday.

At Cho Wines in Oregon, cofounder Lois Cho is witnessing that shift firsthand. “If you look at our production, 40% is Pinot Noir, 60% is sparkling, rosé, or white,” Cho said. “That itself is a really big shift in showing people what people are drinking.” They build tasting flights around bubbles and ask which bottles work across a whole table rather than for a single pairing.

Many guests coming into the tasting room are experiencing wine for the first time or joining a wine club for the first time, drawn to the variety and approachability of lighter styles. They’re also asking different questions. “People are wanting to be connected to the people,” Cho said. “They want to know that we hold the same values. They want to know more about who they’re supporting, rather than just what they’re supporting.”

Ditching the old wine lexicon

The shift isn’t just about what younger drinkers are ordering but also about how they’re encouraged to describe what they taste. Traditional tasting notes are built from one taster’s palate and memories, then treated as a guide for everyone else. Cho shares that her tasting room staff doesn’t tell guests what they should be tasting. “Everybody has very different flavor experiences and cultural references,” Cho said. “I may not have tasted what cassis tastes like. We’re not going to tell you what you’re going to taste, because that can feel off-putting — like, ‘I don’t taste it, so I must not be doing this right.'”

“We did a disservice when wine became centered on Eurocentric descriptions,” said Tiquette Bramlett, president of the non-profit Our Legacy Harvested and founder of Henderson Ave Wines. “Not everybody knows what those descriptors are because they didn’t grow up around them.”

Building wine spaces that feel like they belong to everyone

The tasting room adjustments and language shifts point to something larger: whether the industry can build spaces that resonate with the world younger drinkers are already part of. Some producers aren’t waiting to find out. This fall, Tiquette Bramlett co-organized Tradition Reimagined, a five-day experience bringing together Oregon winemakers, chefs, and community members to address who wine spaces are built for and how the industry can meet the next generation where they are.

“So many tasting rooms pride themselves on education about their wines and the land,” Bramlett said. “And younger guests were like, ‘No, I want to know about the people.’ They want to know about the folks participating in the production. But also—they feel uncomfortable when they step into certain tasting rooms.”

Bramlett is the first Black woman appointed to oversee a winery in a major U.S. wine region. As president of Our Legacy Harvested, an organization working to ensure wine spaces better reflect the diverse community of wine drinkers, she knows that discomfort firsthand. Her approach isn’t framed as outreach to Gen Z but as an acknowledgment that the next generation, shaped by the pandemic and a heightened demand for transparency, decides where to spend its attention based on whether a space feels built for them. “So just tell me what the tea is,” Bramlett said. “They want the authenticity of who you are — good, bad, indifferent.”

Why these shifts matter more than ever

Wine is competing across more lanes than ever. For Gen Z, the choice is not red versus white; it is wine versus everything else that promises clarity, value, and ease. According to a Harris Poll conducted in partnership with eMarketer, wine (21%) holds its own with Gen Z restaurant orders, tracking close to beer (19%) and spirits (18%) — but the competition is tight across categories.

“Wine scores fall flat on the ears of the new generation,” Cho said. “They’re not chasing prestige — they’re not chasing ‘I drink this wine and this is my status.’ It’s ‘I drink this wine and these are the values that I hold.’ It’s value-driven, rather than prestige-driven.”

Price and intention shape the purchase. Many Gen Z buyers consider wine a planned treat or a shared centerpiece, not a nightly habit, which changes what a good value looks like. Provenance, production details, and versatility matter as much as a number on a shelf tag. “They don’t feel like they have as much power with their vote anymore,” Cho said. “So where their money goes is sharing what they support, what they value. Their dollars are their vote.”

Access looks like the room itself and the language used within it. The spaces that hold attention feel built for a wider audience from the start, not retrofitted later. “The gatherings she does are not tastings — they’re gatherings,” Bramlett said, describing a colleague’s approach. “A tomato festival where people try wines. Game nights. Music in the backyard. It doesn’t just have to be this one note.”

That approach aligns with broader research on Gen Z drinking habits. According to IWSR, community is paramount for Gen Z drinkers, and they are pioneering new occasions outside traditional bar and restaurant settings — social gatherings in local vintage stores, late-night parties at hairdressers, or events centered around shared interests like board games or language learning. Programs that combine tasting with culture and conversation give first-time guests a reason to return, and labels that tell drinkers what a bottle is good for, not just what it is, make the category easier to choose in the moment.

Where the industry goes from here

“The wine industry has got to be more experiential,” Cho said. “We’re going to see wine clubs where it’s not just ‘you get early access and a discount,’ but ‘we’re gonna meet you doing the things that you like to do that are not wine related.’ People are very multifaceted, and to acknowledge that is a huge thing.”

Expect continued interest in sparkling, chillable reds, and lighter-bodied bottles that flex across a table, along with formats and events that prioritize story and inclusion. The producers who make the case quickly, on the label and in the room, are the ones most likely to capture Gen Z’s attention.  

Across tasting rooms, community programs, and experiential events, the pattern remains consistent. Gen Z isn’t rejecting wine; they’re rejecting opacity. When the path in is clearer, the room feels welcoming, and the bottle fits the moment they actually have, they choose it.