Why it’s not over for wine just yet
Despite much hand-wringing by those in the wine trade right now, tech expert and Wine Owners co-founder Nick Martin believes that the grape-based drink has a bright future, when discussing market challenges with db ahead of our conference next month.
Acknowledging that the global wine market is now entering its third year of declining sales, and commenting that some of the change in consumption habits are unlikely to go away, Martin also told db that “from the summer onwards, there is a belief that the bottom has been hit.”
Martin, whose business is the headline sponsor of db’s conference on profitability in London on Wednesday 8 October, then said that there were reasons to believe in the long-term health of the wine sector.
“I do have a positive outlook in spite of all the doom and gloom and in spite of all of the geodemographic experts telling us that the younger generations are never going to drink wine,” he said.
Continuing, he observed, “I think that for whatever reason, this whole geodemographic thing has become a kind of lightning rod as it were for a lot of commentators, and you know there is some truth in it in terms of younger people drinking things other than wine, and of course there’s more choice than there ever has been before.”
He added, “However, I do subscribe to the view that wine is quite fundamental to a lifestyle, an expression of a civilized way of enjoying and living, and I think that it goes hand in hand with gastronomy and people who enjoy food – and I don’t see commentators talking about how people are going to move towards more packaged foods, for example.”
He also commented, “I don’t see that any conversation about how people are going to eat out less; I think if anything there is a trend towards people spending more of their free time enjoying gastronomic experiences, and I think that wine is an intrinsic part of that.”
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As a result, for Nick, consumption trends among a younger generation actually favour wine, because, he said, “there are more gateways into wine than there were before through hospitality.”
He explained, “If I look at the high street and wine merchants these days, there are more wine merchants with tables and wines by the pour and basic platters to accompany wine that’s being served in that retail environment.”
Concluding he said, “So retail and hospitality is starting to blur, and I think that the more that that happens, the more that people discover wine…
And we all, at one point or another discovered wine; we all had moments of excitement as we tasted the wine that really meant something to us. And I think that it’s about having those gateways into the discovery and enjoyment of wine that is going to continue to drive, engagement and consumption.”
Finally, he said, “I don’t see that going away; in fact, I think it’s going to increase in terms of opportunities for discoveries.”
Titled Profitability in a challenging market, next month’s db conference promises to look at issues from the hard economic realities facing the wine trade in 2025 to the top techniques for tackling declining consumption, as well as the opportunities for sustainable growth right now and in the near future.
Profitability in a challenging market: securing growth without sacrificing margins
- The Science Gallery, London
- 8 October 2025
- 9.30-5pm
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