Bulk wine: no longer an afterthought, but a focal point
Bulk wine is proving to be an increasingly crucial and innovative part of the global wine industry. And its dynamic nature is proving highly attractive to younger professionals, reports Sophie Arundel.
When most people picture someone “working in the wine trade”, the stereotype is arguably intact: an older gentleman in red trousers, perhaps swirling a glass in a centuries-old cellar in Burgundy, or leaning against an ancient stone wall somewhere in Tuscany.
However, it’s a vision that fails to represent the reality of a sector undergoing huge change. In 2025, the wine industry looks very different to the clichés perpetuated by old boys’ clubs and picture-perfect vineyards. And nowhere is that shift more visible than in the bulk wine world, which has become one of the most dynamic, innovative and surprisingly youthful corners of the global drinks trade. Far from dusty cellars and inherited estates, this is a category defined by engineering, sustainability, packaging disruption, logistics sophistication and fast-moving brand creation. And it is attracting young professionals in a way that traditional fine wine often fails to.
Anyone walking into the latest World Bulk Wine Exhibition (WBWE), held on 24-25 November 2025 in Amsterdam, would have found energetic 20 and 30somethings buzzing between stands, discussing flexitank performance, showing off bag-in-box redesigns and debating lightweight bottle merits. As Stephan Marusczyk, development manager at VinLog, the beverage division of Kuehne + Nagel, puts it, WBWE is simply “the show to attend”, not just for suppliers, but for the entire logistics and bottling ecosystem. The very fact that so many parts of the supply chain converge in one place, he says, is a sign of how globally interconnected and forward-thinking the bulk sector has become.
Bulk wine’s historical image problem is well documented. As several producers at the fair admitted, outdated perceptions often see bulk as a way of “getting rid of wine you didn’t really want”, or a race to the bottom on price. Today, the opposite is true.
Paul Braydon, director of business development and marketing at Manchester-based Kingsland Drinks, explains it succinctly: “Bulk wine still has some negative connotations, which is why I prefer calling it ‘wine bottled in market’. But if you look at what’s happening now – the quality, the reach, the innovation – it’s unrecognisable compared with 10 years ago.”
He’s right. Kingsland recently packed a Napa Cabernet in bulk for a UK discounter (the highest per-litre wine price that Braydon’s team has purchased). Five years ago, that would have been unimaginable. “The consumer could never have accessed a Napa Cabernet for under £20,” Braydon says. “Now it’s less than £15 on the shelf.” That level of premiumisation illustrates a broader truth: bulk wine isn’t a shortcut; it’s a strategy.
Marusczyk also highlights that some of the world’s most important wine markets (including the UK, Germany and the US) rely heavily on bottling in market, while origins like Australia remain major bulk suppliers. For young professionals, that means immediate exposure to complex, multi-continental supply chains that most traditional wine industry players don’t interact with as much.
One reason why younger professionals gravitate towards bulk wine is because it offers something traditional winemaking can’t: the freedom to innovate quickly and keep up with consumer trends. Fine wine is tied to heritage, terroir, appellation rules and family legacy. Bulk wine, by contrast, is tied to ingenuity.
Maria Kurteva, 20-something brand manager at Corten-Vin Companie SRL in Moldova, says the attraction is simple: “In bulk, there is more chance to be innovative. You can bring new ideas that stand a chance of being implemented, new formats, new packaging. It’s not like working for a winery that has been doing the same thing for 200 years.”
‘In bulk, there is more chance to be innovative. You can bring new ideas that stand a chance of being implemented’
That spirit of experimentation runs throughout the category. Canned wine, alternative formats, bag-in-box reinventions, lightweight bottles, RTDs, wine-cocktail hybrids – the bulk world often acts as the test kitchen for the broader industry.
Braydon describes Kingsland’s in-house design team, capable of creating a brand “from concept to delivery” – something that appeals directly to younger creatives. The team’s work with formats like 1.5litre bag-in-box and canned wine is opening doors for brands targeting younger drinkers who want convenience without compromising on quality.
Technological advances in logistics have also transformed the space. Marusczyk notes that flexitanks, once “basically a plastic bag”, have evolved into highly engineered, reliable vessels capable of moving premium wine across oceans without compromising quality.
This kind of tech-driven progress is exactly what attracts graduates with engineering, supply chain or operations backgrounds (a very different cohort from the classic oenology route).
If young talent is drawn to any single factor, it’s sustainability. While traditional wineries certainly embrace greener practices, the structural advantage of bulk wine is overwhelming.
Shipping 24,000–26,000 litres in a flexitank, rather than 18,000 bottles in glass, is transformative in terms of emissions. Bottling locally means glass travels tens of miles, not thousands. For Gen Z (arguably the most climate-conscious generation yet), that matters.
Braydon explains it plainly: “We shouldn’t be shipping glass manufactured abroad all the way around the globe.” Kingsland’s closed-loop system, with bottles made within 30 miles of the company’s base, demonstrates what sustainability looks like in practice.
Perhaps the most consistent theme young professionals mention is how approachable the category feels. Margherita Furia, wine and hospitality management student at Kedge Business School, who also works for her family wine business Cantina Furia in
Valpolicella, says bulk wine is “less stuffy and intimidating” than other parts of the trade. “People actually want to explain things to you,” she says. “They don’t assume you already know everything.”
‘The stakes are higher. When you’re dealing with half-a-million-litre tanks, one mistake is significant’
Partner Content
Braydon agrees. “Wine generally still has some stuffiness, but bulk wine definitely has less. It’s about international trade, partnerships, getting products to people who want to drink it.”
Andrew Porton, group director of wine at Lanchester Group, says this openness extends across competitors too. “There’s competition, of course, but there’s a huge amount of camaraderie,” he says. “We all recognise the same challenges. Duty, EPR, rising costs, declining consumption. We’re better off being decent to each other.”
Bulk wine isn’t easy. Its challenges, however, are precisely what make it exciting for the younger workforce.
Porton makes a critical point: producing high-quality wine at a low price point is an expensive and difficult task. “You have to consider every cost,” he says. “Everything is going up. The stakes are higher. When you’re dealing with half-a-million-litre tanks, one mistake is significant.”
Evangy Avetisian, president of Hong Kong-based Monochrome Group, takes a somewhat controversial stance. Young people, he argues, are “disillusioned with luxury and branding”, because the internet exposes the real cost of manufacturing. They’re gravitating towards transparency – principles that bulk wine embodies. “Young people are much smarter,” he says. “They don’t fall for overpriced things. They want to know where something comes from and how it’s made.”
Making waves: most wine consumed in the UK now uses the bulk model
His comments, while provocative, underscore a generational shift: younger professionals want to work in sectors that feel honest, efficient and relevant.
Avetisian also challenges the romantic assumption that small always means superior. “The larger the quantity, the more you can guarantee the quality,” he argues. “One mistake means millions of litres have a problem. You cannot afford mistakes.”
His analogy (comparing bulk wine production to the process of manufacturing brakes for car brands, where precision is non-negotiable) pushes back against an outdated notion that large-scale means careless.
Flipping the assumption
One of the worries often cited by students considering the wine industry is that opportunities are limited unless you inherit land or take the exams to become a sommelier. Bulk wine flips that assumption entirely.
Kingsland is a clear example. Braydon points to a young colleague, Andy Hoyle, who started off in samples before moving into commercial roles, then transferring into buying, and now manages categories including South Africa, Eastern Europe, North America and spirits.
“We have to keep hold of good talent,” Braydon explains. “As an employee-owned business, we’re focused on developing people and helping them progress.”
Porton reinforces this from a broader perspective: understanding volume wine, cost structures and packaging innovation provides a commercial grounding that fine wine often simply can’t.
“If you really want to cut your teeth in the wine industry, this is a good way to do it,” he says.
Younger consumers are drinking less wine, a trend everyone in the industry recognises. But they’re also drinking differently, choosing lower-ABV options, alternative formats and designs that feel contemporary rather than traditional.
That shift makes the bulk sector especially responsive: it’s flexible enough to experiment, pivot and adapt without being tied to a château’s image. As Porton says: “Most bottles of wine consumed in the UK come from the bulk model. These wines are stepping-stones into the wider world of wine. The first step should be a good one.” Young people entering the trade can help make that happen – shaping what those first experiences look like for the next generation of consumers.
Bulk wine, once the industry’s quiet workhorse, has become its engine of innovation, creativity and sustainability. It’s where packaging evolves, where new markets open, where supply chains revolutionise and where global relationships are forged at dizzying speed.
And in 2025, it’s also where the youngest, most dynamic new entrants are choosing to build their careers. The red trousers may still exist, but increasingly, the future of wine looks more like a 20something flexitank engineer, packaging designer, a buyer juggling shipments from South Africa and India, or a young logistics specialist navigating geopolitical disruption.
Bulk wine isn’t a hushed part of the trade any more; it’s a cornerstone. And the next generation is central to its success.
Related news
‘It just makes sense’: Why in-market bottling is winning the sustainability battle
