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Posted on 02/26/2026 6:34:32 AM PST by V_TWIN
US News Metro Long Island Politics World News Metro California winery owner gives hottest take yet on why industry is dying By Ross O'Keefe Published Feb. 25, 2026, 6:43 p.m. ET
503 Today's Video Headlines
00:10 / 00:50 The owner of a Sonoma County winery believes the industry is dying because baby boomers are.
Jon Phillips, the owner of Sonoma County winery Inspiration Vineyards and Winery, told The Post that the population decline of the industry’s top wine-consuming generation has led to a recent downturn in sales.
“A lot of people have a misconception that the boomers are drinking less,” he said. “This cannot be emphasized enough: It’s not because the boomers are drinking less, it’s because there are less boomers.”
He says in conjunction with the declining baby boomer demand is less interest from younger generations like Gen Z and millennials, who have slowly adopted wine. Other factors like tariffs and recent wildfires have hurt wine-growing and producing operations, he added. He also pins declining sales on new negative messaging concerning alcohol.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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Boomers are dying and tariffs.....sure pal.
Maybe people are sick and tired of being told they have to pay $40+ for 750ml of your precious liquid.
I get he has a right to make a profit, I just think California wine has always been overpriced.....especially from the Napa region.
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Price. There are cheaper alternatives for young people getting a buzz.
I don’t think I’ve seen a single article saying that young people are avoiding alcohol because they prefer cannabis. Maybe I’ve just missed those articles. But it seems to me that this has to be a big part of the picture. And it seems to me that no one wants to talk about it.
The reason Cali wines are so expensive now is because Newscum has inflicted ridiculous opex on the wineries and agriculture.
“””Price. There are cheaper alternatives for young people getting a buzz.”””
I’ve seen small wineries pop up all over in Minnesota. I saw a few in South Dakota. So I expect it is happening everywhere.
I see these micro breweries pop up all over Minneapolistan.
Now I see them failing.
Fads come and go.
Also some of us boomers just don’t like wine.
Maybe the Scamalis will buy it all up make tons of money but make NO WINE ,LOL
“There are cheaper alternatives for young people getting a buzz.”
From what I see at the grocery stores seltzers are all the rage.
Heck, that’s what I drink primarily.
Lighter than beer with the same alcohol content and you can get a 22 pack for between $13 and $20.
*** it’s because there are less boomers***
Fewer boomers, not less.
“some of us boomers just don’t like wine.”
This guy’s theory is bullsht.
It’s capitalism in action.....give the consumers a quality product at a competitive price or suffer the consequences.
The author is 100% correct. Boomers still drink, but they’re reducing in numbers at an accelerating rate. And younger people drink far less alcohol per capita. Meanwhile, Canada has removed all US alcohol products from their shelves and other countries have added new tariffs.
Net result is; demand has been shrinking while supply increases continued far too long. Now the reckoning has arrived. Lower prices won’t make the young change their habits. At least, not in the short run. The alcohol business is in an extended downturn that will likely continue for another generation.
This doesn’t seem to be the same problem here in Texas wine country, the Highway 290 corridor from Austin to Fredericksburg. Could the California problem relate to California’s policies??
OTOH, being in a business that can kill your most consuming customers isn’t necessarily a great strategy.
From Rock asking are the failure rates of wine region California greater than Texas which has become big Wine Country....
GROK
Yes, based on current data as of early 2026, the failure rate (or net decline/closure rate) for wineries appears significantly higher in California than in Texas right now.
The U.S. wine industry overall has been declining for several years due to falling wine consumption (down ~15% nationally from 2019-2024), shifting preferences toward spirits/RTDs, oversupply, and economic pressures. However, the impacts are uneven across states.
California (home to ~41-42% of U.S. wineries, with roughly 4,646-4,672 bonded producers as of recent 2026 counts) is experiencing a severe downturn:
From GROK not Rock....correction
Heck, doesn’t take much to make your own at home!
Doubles as a great hobby to brew/wine make your own !!!
Too many boomer jabs.
Have Old World wine sales/imports gone down, comparatively?
Boomers are dying …..
In my household, since my wife passed and was sick several months prior, wine consumption went from one bottle of red every three or four nights to one bottle every week to ten days or so. Wife and daughter enjoyed their reds. My visits to purchase wine at a favorite store dropped to,…..well, now i can’t even remember the last time when i purchased six bottles.
Find another sin to take advantage of for money.
Porn, anxiety drugs are taken.
It’s a big world of self-destruction out there.....and there you go!
From GROK not Rock....correction
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