Affordable wine

The wine industry is in crisis, but that’s not exactly news.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, we’re seeing a clear decline in wine consumption, especially among younger generations. Gen Z, in particular, just isn’t drinking as much wine as previous generations did. And while that might sound like bad news for the wine industry (and it is), I actually see something quite positive in it.

Personally, I like that Gen Z approaches wine differently. They drink it mindfully. Gone are the days of excessive drinking. There’s a shift toward intention, moderation, and genuine enjoyment. And that’s exactly how it should be. Wine is, and has always been, a pleasure and like any pleasure, when overdone, it loses its magic. So in that sense, this new mindful approach is refreshing. But this is not a good news for winemakers, and the wider wine industry.

Since the pandemic, wine production has been on a downward trend. Climate change, unpredictable weather, reduced vineyard yields, and even political or economic pressures have all played a part. Several countries are starting to react. Some governments are encouraging farmers to rip up vineyards, offering financial incentives to convert land to other uses. In other places, like Champagne just this week, yield per hectare has been reduced for the third year in a row, in a bid to maintain prices, but also as a response to shrinking demand.

In the middle of all this, I stumbled across a recent interview with the COO of Gallo, one of the biggest wine producers in the world. Now, whether or not you’ve ever had a bottle of Gallo wine, I haven’t, but I seen plenty of it, lined up on supermarket shelves. It’s one of those ubiquitous brands, and the COO had the solution.

According to him, one big factor is affordability. He pointed to an example from a New York restaurant where a glass of beer was priced at $8, while a glass of wine was $18. His point was simple: for younger consumers, wine is just too expensive compared to other options. It sounds like a fair argument on the surface, but the more I thought about it, the more questions it raised.

First, let’s be honest, the COO of Gallo is, of course, going to defend Gallo and make a case for why wine should be more affordable. That’s part of his job. But Gallo’s position in the wine world is almost unique. Very few wine producers have the scale, resources, and distribution power that Gallo has. And Gallo wines are… well, let’s just say they’re not exactly known for their quality. They’re affordable, accessible, and consistent - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing - but they don’t represent the broader diversity of the wine world.

But even putting that aside, let’s go back to that New York restaurant example. If I had been sitting at that table and saw a glass of beer for $8 and a glass of wine for $8 or even $10, I wouldn’t have celebrated. In fact, I’d have been concerned. Why? Because a glass of wine, even an affordable one, has fundamentally different production costs than a glass of beer. If they’re priced the same, something feels off.

Here’s the thing: beer and wine are not equal in terms of what it takes to produce them. A glass of wine is the result of at least a year of hard work in the vineyard, pruning, caring for the vines, managing pests, dealing with unpredictable weather, and then there’s the harvest, the winemaking process, bottling, storage, transport… the list goes on. And that’s for a simple wine. Add barrel ageing, more time in cellar, or organic and sustainable practices, and the costs just goes up.

Beer, on the other hand, can be brewed in a matter of weeks. Ingredients like barley, hops, and yeast are far more readily available and less climate-sensitive than grapes. Beer can be produced year-round in controlled environments. That’s not to say brewing is easy, there’s a craft and complexity to good beer too, and there are beers costing more than a glass of wine, but the scale and timelines are completely different.

So when someone suggests that a glass of wine should cost the same as a glass of beer, I can’t help but ask: how? How can that possibly make sense? Even the most industrially produced wines, such as Gallo, have higher production costs than most beers. And if a wine is being sold at the same price as beer, corners are being cut somewhere. Either in the vineyard, the cellar, the supply chain, or likely the quality.

But that brings me to the bigger, more important question: what exactly is an “affordable” wine? And how do we make one that’s both accessible and still true to what wine should be?
If we define affordable wine purely by price, let’s say under 10£ a bottle, we’re setting a tight margin. In many cases, the only way to hit that price point is to use mass-farming techniques, machine harvesting, high yield, synthetic chemicals, shortcuts in winemaking, and low labour costs, sometimes even exploitation.

There are fantastic wines out there that offer great value. But the reality is that good wine, made properly, with respect for the land and the people who make it, comes at a cost. That cost can’t always be brought down to beer levels. And maybe it shouldn’t be.

Instead of trying to make wine “as cheap as beer,” perhaps we should focus on helping consumers understand why wine costs what it does. That doesn't mean every bottle has to be expensive - there are great, honest wines in the £10–15 but some wines cost more because of how they’re made. We need to explain what goes into that price. At Italyabroad.com, we’ve always about value, whether it is wine or food.

Gen Z doesn’t mind spending money when something feels authentic, ethical, and high-quality. They support brands that reflect their values. So maybe the future of wine lies in better storytelling, transparency, and connection, rather than price wars with beer.