The Wine Industry Doesn’t Have a Demystification Problem. It Has a Gatekeeping Problem.

For decades, wine has been wrapped in layers of exclusivity, often controlled by the same old narratives — rigid, hierarchical, and frankly, boring. The result? Wine sales are down. Way down.

But here’s the twist: I don’t think the answer is to “demystify” wine. I think we need to re-mystify it.

Younger generations aren’t turned off by complexity — they crave it. Just look at the coffee world: single-origin beans, micro-lots, fermentation methods, even elevation stats. People aren’t just drinking coffee; they’re exploring it. They’re obsessed with where it’s from, how it’s grown, and what makes it unique. Sound familiar?

The same potential exists for wine. Terroir isn’t intimidating — it’s fascinating. The idea that a grape grown on one hillside can taste completely different from the same grape grown just a mile away? That’s not “snobby.” That’s magic.

Imagine if we framed wine like the ultimate collectible — each bottle a story, a piece of a global puzzle, a flavor you can’t find anywhere else. It’s not unlike the thrill of “Gotta catch ‘em all,” but instead of fictional creatures, it’s volcanic soils in Etna, wind-swept slopes in Patagonia, or limestone caves in Champagne.

Wine isn’t losing relevance because it’s too complex. It’s losing relevance because we’ve been telling the wrong story. Or, more importantly, we’ve been letting large conglomerates tell OUR story.

It’s time to change that.