Sell more wine with flavour, not terroir
Why does this matter?
BevTech founders need to understand major consumer behavior shifts driving wine innovation—flavor-first marketing, RTD growth (992% YoY for Saint Spritz), and occasion-based positioning are creating startup opportunities and reshaping how beverage tech products should communicate value to younger consumers.
Highlights
Wine sales may be declining overall, but categories focused on flavour, accessibility and occasion are booming. Producers who shift how they communicate with consumers, especially younger drinkers, are finding new routes to growth without sacrificing identity. Kathleen Willcox reports. Imagine you’re ordering a steak at a restaurant and instead of telling you about the cut, flavour and inquiring about your preferred cooking method, the server won’t stop droning on about the particular subspecies from which the steak was extracted, and the patch of grass it dined on, with its own set of distinct particularities. It might be enough to put you off steak. While meatheads love to masticate about the intricacies of bovine life, and educated wine connoisseurs love to wax poetic about particular grape varieties and certain auspicious wine regions, the vast majority of the human race just wants a medium-rare ribeye and a glass of full-bodied, fruit-forward wine. More flavour and fun, less ponderous chit-chat. Make that double for younger generations. Sales growth talks Just peer at recent growth numbers in unexpected wine and wine-adjacent areas and you’ll see what we mean. Still wines overall declined -5.8% year over year, according to consumer behaviour analyst NielsenIQ (NIQ), but sales in categories that pushed flavour, fun, and occasion-based drinking soared. High-octane wines that sit around 16% grew 8.9% year over year, and flavoured RTD wine cocktails grew 15%. “We are seeing younger consumers prioritise flavour first, often over traditional cues like varietal or region,” says Kaleigh Theriault, director of thought leadership at NIQ. “Flavours are easily recognisable and quick to understand for the newest generation of drinkers, with far less ambiguity or learning curve than wine varietals, beer styles, or regions. The shift really started with ready-to-drinks, where taste and flavour mattered more than the alcohol base. Now it's carrying over into every other segment, including non-alcohol and high ABV.” All areas of the wine-beverage space encompassing wine cocktails, non-alcoholic, low-alcoholic, and high-alcoholic beverages that have focused on prioritising flavour and occasion over grape and region, are finding a receptive audience. Building a bridge with flavour without sacrificing identity Not every producer is ready to introduce a guava-goji berry Merlot, but innovators who have found traction say there are copious ways to build a bridge between younger generations and fine wine through a focus on flavour. “There are so many options now, from THC flavoured waters to hard seltzers, that just weren’t there 10, 20 years ago,” Rodrigo Maturana, president of sales and marketing at Viña Concha y Toro USA, a global wine company with a portfolio spanning Chile, Argentina, and the US “Wine is so full of aromas and flavours this younger generation loves, but how do we express that? For us, it became about exploring flavour-full instead of flavoured wine.” When tasked with resolving that conundrum, one of the winemaking team’s answers to this challenge came in the form of Bonterra’s Ranch Wine. (Bonterra resides under the Viña Concha y Toro umbrella). “We don’t add flavourings, but we put the natural flavours in the wine front and centre on the label and our communications,” Maturana says, pointing to Pineapple Key Lime, which offers tropical notes with bright citrus undertones. They are still in the early stages of launch, but in the first eight months, 35,000 cases of Ranch Wine were sold, exceeding their expectations. “It showed us that by putting quality first and staying true to our values of authenticity and organic production, but changing the messaging behind what they can expect, provided a gateway to bring new, younger people into the wine category.” The Ranch Wines all hover at 11%, also capitalising on the better-for-you wine trend that is also seeing a boost in sales. (Sales of better-for-you wines were up 3% year over year, according to NIQ’s year-end analysis). At Bordeaux’s Barton & Guestier, managing director Philippe Marion says they are also investing in the premium, flavour-first no and low alcohol wine space, in a nod to the new manner in which consumers want to engage with fine wine. “Younger consumers are entering the wine category through flavour first, often seeking expressive styles,” Marion says, adding that instead of “replacing traditional wine, it feeds into it, acting as a gateway as their palate develops. Muscat is unquestionably one of the strongest growth drivers across our portfolio right now. Its naturally aromatic profile, fruit character and sweetness make it suited to where the consumer demand is heading.” But high-alcohol wines are clearly resonating too. The breakout 16% abv XXL, which was launched in 2023 at 38,000 cases and is now projected to reach 2.5 million, snagged Wine Enthusiast’s Innovator of the Year award, and has underlined the need for innovation across the high-alcohol space. 1000 Stories, also under the Viña Concha y Toro umbrella, debuted a high-alcohol 16.5% Cabernet Sauvignon in 2025. “We put the 16.5% prominently on the label alongside our Buffalo icon,” Maturana says. “We’ve seen meaningful growth because, like the Ranch Wine, it invites a new type of customer. Bourbon and whiskey drinkers, and other people who might not otherwise drink wine. The growth is polarised between lower, no and high-alcohol, but really it’s people looking for the same thing in different forms.” These trends are popping up in fine wine too. David Parker, founder and CEO of fine wine retailer Benchmark Wine Group, notes that low and no-alcohol wines and RTDs are not in the category of rare and speciality wines that Benchmark specialises in, but he has still seen some interesting changes that reflect the broader flavour and occasion-seeking zeitgeist. “In terms of high-ABV wines, fortified red wines from Portugal have leapt back into fashion,” Parker says. “In the collectable category, vintage Ports have appreciated faster than almost any other group. According to the Wine Market Journal, their Port index appreciated 13.6% from the beginning of 2025 through mid-March of 2026, faster than almost any other category.” At Benchmark, they’ve seen Port sales increase 25.9% in 2025, with 2026 currently pacing for an additional 13.7% year-over-year growth, after lagging behind other collectable categories like Burgundy and Champagne in recent years. A new occasion-based style of drinking on-prem Parker notes that on-premise, these fortified wines are also re-entering the space and driving sales. “They’re recognised as a great way to close out a meal, being particularly good with chocolate and other desserts,” he says, adding that “the fact that an open bottle lasts for many days makes it a financial advantage to serve by the glass.” Drinks directors at restaurants, while alarmed to see the drop in sales volumes, are also trying to take advantage of the more mindful approach to alcohol consumption. “Consumers, especially younger ones, want a reason and an experience that matches the moment,” says Andrae Steed, sommelier at Surety Hotel’s Mulberry Street Tavern in Des Moines. “The RTD wine cocktail space especially is meeting people where they actually are: they’re convenient, consistent and flavoured in ways they already recognise and trust. From n/a to high-alcohol to RTDs, I’m leading with flavour and occasion more than I ever used to, and origin and terroir come in later if they come in at all.” The evolution of the palate makes sense, says Sanwar Mal Khokhar, mixologist and beverage programme leader at Dallas’ Sanjh Restaurant & Bar. “Millennials just passed baby boomers as the biggest wine-drinking group in America,” Khokhar says. “This is a generation that grew up on flavoured speciality coffee, craft soda and sparkling water with 15 options at the petrol station. A wine with elderflower or hibiscus or cardamom isn’t a novelty to them, it’s just a drink worth paying attention to.” Format makes function Millennials and Gen Z grew up with swicy pizza and chaos cuisine mashups as a matter of course, and now, they’re having kids, and what they want from a quick drink between playdates and bedtime is different. “I used to be rosé all day,” says Mallory Patton, co-founder of Saint Spritz, an RTD cocktail inspired by the Aperol Spritz. “But I’m a mother now, and I want something lighter, but still natural.” While she was travelling in Italy, Patton says she fell for the Spritz, the flavour and the lifestyle. But when she came home, she discovered that Aperol was loaded with additives and food dyes. Patton and her co-founders, Ben Patton and JoJo Fletcher, saw an opportunity to sell the la dolce vita lifestyle in a format that younger US consumers would embrace. “We wanted it to hover around 5% abv, and contain real wine, with real added juice, and nothing processed,” explains Ben Patton of their vision for Saint Spritz. “We had no idea how it would be received, so we released it locally in Texas, with 1,500 cases.” The reception has been wildly enthusiastic. Saint Spritz got picked up by Target and other chains, registering 992% year over year growth between 2024 and 2025, and now has 38% of the US RTD spritz market share. Other recent debuts, like Miami’s Premium Blend, have seen similar receptions. Henry Santos, co-founder of Premium Blend, credits the enthusiasm to a shift toward approachable, flavour-first, “clean and natural” wine-based beverages from no to higher alcohol options. “The strongest growth is happening in cocktail-style offerings that prioritise flavour, consistency and ease of execution, particularly on-premise,” Santos says, adding that it allows operators to offer a cocktail-like experience within a beer and wine licence framework, while “still meeting consumer expectation around flavour and experience.” Year over year, several of Premium Blend’s offerings have delivered eye-popping results, with Zapotec Espadin Agave Wine, a wine-based mezcal, clocking in at 24% abv, growing 266% between 2024 and 2025, and Santos Sangria White with a 6% abv, increasing sales by 20% year over year. Creative marketing opps “Flavour talks,” says Dante McDermott Catena, a fifth-generation member of the Catena wine family, and lead strategist at the low and no-alcohol Domaine EdeM. “Younger people want to break away from what they perceive as the close-mindedness of older generations. We’ve found that talking about occasions, opportunities for celebration, zebra-striping and focusing on taste really appeals to younger generations.” Last year, the Catena family introduced its first-ever range of low and no alcohol wines, and Catena explains that the ethos behind the launch was based on the pursuit of occasion-based consumption and the wholehearted embrace of flavour. “It’s not about not drinking alcohol at all for most young people,” Catena says. “More than 90% of people who buy non-alcoholic products also buy ones with alcohol. It’s about what they’re in the mood for that night.” On a quest for flavour that would resonate with younger generations, the team also added select botanicals that would deliver the herbal, citrus, spicy flavour and bitterness the Catenas found so lacking in other pure non-alcoholic wine products. Helen Kurtz, chief marketing officer at The Wine Group, says that the way they discuss their line of no to high-alcohol flavour-forward wines varies considerably based on the product. “Even though wine is declining as an overall category, there are true pockets of growth that we can learn from and lean into,” Kurtz notes. “One thing is for sure: consumers are multifaceted and full of dualities. They are making different choices depending on the occasion, venue or channel. The result is growth in a range of different areas, often on opposite ends of the spectrum.” People looking for a serious kick with their wine tend to also want “high fruit and flavour cues, so we introduced several new lines, like MAD DOG by MD 20/20, FUEL by Franzia, and the new Dulce Sol Spiked Aguas Frescas line.” And while Kurtz and the team are hesitant to push the envelope too far with RTDs or flavoured extensions in the £20+ category, she says that increasingly, “portability matters. Consumers want products that can travel with them. Given this, we’re actively exploring single-serve formats for super-premium-plus brands.” We all know that wine is in a tough spot right now. Premium Pinot Noir producers will not now and hopefully not ever start wanting to add mezcal to the bottle, with a splash of lime, and selling it as a beach wine-arita. But clearly, there is a different, and more nuanced, flavour-based vocabulary and method of thinking about occasion-based sipping that is worth considering, from the grand cru Pinot Noir single-estates of the world to the petrol station passionfruit one-shot RTDs. Selling more does not require selling out, but a flexible and creative paradigm is increasingly essential.
The Drinks Business
