Has Doomsday Arrived for Wine? | New Brief #276

In recent months, there has been an unusually large amount of bad news about wine. People talk about a “wine crisis” with falling consumption, fires, heatwaves, wine shortages, price increases, and all sorts of gloomy developments.

We ourselves have contributed to the focus on all this bleakness, with our articles on several of these topics. We took the pulse of the wine industry by asking fifteen wine professionals for their views on the wine crisis; we did a deep dive into the effects of heatwaves on vineyards; and we even entered the debate about forest fires and their “catastrophic” (?) impact on wine production. But we have tried to add more nuance to the discussion rather than shouting “disaster.”

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Calling all wine lovers:

Do you know someone who might be interested in a wine tour?

Please tell them about BKWine Wine Tours! We do wine tours like no other. A leading wine tour operator since more than 20 years.

Have you already been on one of our tours? Tell your friends! Word-of-mouth is perhaps the most important way to spread the word of good wine, great food and exciting travel.

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(If you have Swedish friends, please know that we have a separate, more extensive travel program in Swedish: BKWine Vinresor.)

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Forest fires, for example, have caused major damage. To forests. But not to vineyards, and definitely not in Bordeaux (we’re soon heading to Bordeaux on a wine tour and will certainly take a close look!). You will still be able to enjoy classic Bordeaux wines in the future.

Of course, it is worrying that wine consumption is falling. And production with it: tens of thousands of hectares are being uprooted in places like Bordeaux and California, and one hundred thousand tons of grapes were never harvested in New Zealand.

Thirty five years ago, when we arrived in France, it was almost standard to order un quart de côte — 25 cl of Côtes du Rhône — with lunch, either in the company canteen or at the café on the corner. Today it is less common, even if no one raises an eyebrow if you have a glass of wine with lunch here in France. But in terms of taste, that quart de côte is probably nothing to mourn.

The wine producers we spoke to about “the crisis” were fairly unanimous: yes, declining consumption is a concern, but they do not feel it very strongly. There was no sense of doomsday in their answers. The view was rather that the crisis seems to hit the lowest segments of the market the hardest. Some even hinted that it might be a good thing; time to clear out part of the bottom tier, bulk wines of the lowest quality, planted thanks to overly optimistic expansion. This is probably true, but it does not make things easier for the producers or growers affected.

An interesting perspective came from our new guest writer, Guido Spina, in his debut article. Today’s young wine drinkers seem more curious, more aware, and choose wine in a spirit of exploration, in contrast to earlier generations, who ordered big, well-known brands, safe bets, wines with international reputation.

Change has always been a companion of the wine industry. During the phylloxera crisis, countless vineyards disappeared. At various points in wine history, “purges” have taken place. During phylloxera, there was time; it spread over decades, and vines did not die overnight. But the changes to Europe’s wine landscape were monumental. Looking back, one can see the phylloxera crisis as a seed that led to replanting, reassessment, restart, and ultimately improved quality.

In Champagne last week, we saw how winemakers adapt to heatwaves and drought (more on that in one of the news items). The same is true in other wine regions, too. Heatwaves and climate change bring challenges, but they always have. They also bring opportunities, such as new, exciting wines like the one we wrote about recently, unthinkable thirty years ago.

Will wine styles change? Not necessarily. But even if they do, that is something that has happened throughout wine’s entire existence. The wines we drink today are not at all the same as those people drank thirty years ago. And that is largely because growers and winemakers have become more and more skilled. The wines get better.

Uprooting vines changes the landscape and can even cause harm. The fires of recent years have shown the advantages of having vineyards act as firebreaks in fire prone areas such as the Corbières massif in Languedoc (even though vines eventually burn too, as the photo further down in that article sadly illustrates).

So, is wine’s doomsday approaching? Something to discuss over a good glass of wine at the dinner table.

But our answer is no. Consumption is changing, as is production — in many ways toward better quality. The climate brings challenges, but also opportunities (and causes far greater problems in contexts other than wine), and fires — yes, we will always have to live with those.

This month’s BKWine Brief has more reading for you than usual, so take a good look and file it perhaps in your come-back-to-again pile.

Wine tours

We have three tours that we particularly want to bring to your attention: Bordeaux, Burgundy-Champagne, and New Zealand.

If you can’t come this time, maybe you can tell a friend who might want to join us on one of our upcoming tours.

Bordeaux luxury wine and gastronomy

13-19 September

This Bordeaux tour takes you to private lunches and tastings and insider access at world-famous châteaux as well as family-run estates.

More info and book here: Bordeaux, September 13-19, 2026

The Burgundy & Champagne Grand Tour

September 23 – October 1

This nine-day Grand Tour to Burgundy and Champagne.

More info here: Burgundy and Champagne, September 23 – October 1, 2026

New Zealand

The extraordinary adventure in one of the youngest wine countries

A total road-trip, gastronomic, vinous adventure across breathtaking landscapes, blending meetings with the pioneers of the country’s wine industry, private wine tastings of international top-level sauvignon, pinot, cabernet and much more. And immersive cultural experiences, a private dinner with a Māori family to a stunning glacial lake excursion and tea with the Doonan family. All together with Britt and Per of BKWine.

More info and book here:

New Zealand, 10-25 March 2027

And also in winter (only a few places remaining):

• Chile-Argentina, in January 2027
• South Africa, in February 2027 – fully booked now, sorry

More info on our wine tours here. “World’s Top Wine Tours“. Tours led by the people who know wine and who have an unrivalled experience of wine and wine tours.

Travel in wine regions with someone you trust.

Enjoy the Brief!

Britt & Per

Wine editors to the national encyclopedia, Forbes.com contributors, award-winning wine book authors, wine tour advisors to the UN and national wine organisations, wine judges … and, above all, passionate wine travellers.

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