Wine drinkers aren’t going dry, but their tastes are diversifying
According to CellarTracker founder Eric LeVine, “Dry January does not exist” – at least among his audience – though drinkers are exploring far more wine regions than in the past.
The sense that wine lovers are not necessarily drinking less, but are instead diversifying their tastes, was a key message from a recent discussion with LeVine for a drinks business podcast.
The former Microsoft employee, who founded the wine collection management tool in 2003, was keen to stress that his users are not turning away from wine, even during the most abstemious month of the year. Instead, they are becoming more adventurous in their choices.
Speaking to db, and acknowledging the many “headwinds” facing wine producers, LeVine said his audience – comprising both engaged collectors and curious enthusiasts – appears to be consuming similar quantities of alcohol to two decades ago.
“I’ve scoured the data, and there’s been a lot of discussion around Dry January – are people drinking less? Are young people not drinking?” he said. “We take privacy very seriously, but I’ve looked at the data in every way possible, together with my data scientist, and I just don’t see a cliff; I don’t see a falling off.”
Seeing greater diversity
He added: “If anything, I see more diversity – more wines from around the world. Even when I normalise for how often people are drinking and how many bottles they consume over time, two things stand out: first, Dry January, at least among my audience, does not exist. January is much like any other month, aside from December, which is always bigger. Second, I’m simply not seeing a decline – I’m seeing greater diversity, with people exploring more wine regions than they did 20 years ago.”
By way of example, LeVine highlighted that among his users’ favourite grape varieties in 2025 were Savagnin and Pinot Meunier. Meanwhile, one of the fastest-rising producers by bottle purchases was England’s Simpsons Wine Estate.
“I think what we’ve seen over the past 20 years is more diversity, more natural wines, and more producers emerging,” he said. “Looking at the producers with the largest increases in bottles purchased in 2025, I only recognise one of them – Adrice Wines – so that’s amazing.”
Indeed, he later added, “It’s very exciting”, while noting that he was also surprised to see that Columbia Valley was the ninth “most purchased region” among Cellar Tracker users, placing it above the Rhône Valley, which is LeVine’s favourite region.
Producers with the largest increase in bottles purchased in 2025
1 Peake Ranch, California, USA
2 Eden Rift, California, USA
3 Knights Bridge, California, USA
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4 Adrice Wines, California, USA
5 Simpsons Wine Estate, Kent, England
Most Purchased Regions
1 Napa Valley – 1.83M
2 Burgundy – 1.37M
3 Bordeaux – 1.20M
4 Sonoma County – 1M
5 Central Coast – 699k
6 Tuscany – 689k
7 Piedmont – 513k
8 Champagne –509k
9 Columbia Valley – 436k
10 Rhône – 409k
About Eric
Eric LeVine founded CellarTracker in 2003 as wine collection management tool. The invention, like so many, was driven by necessity – Eric wanted a solution to manage his own wine collection. It did help that he was working for Microsoft, so was well versed in tech-based solutions at a time when wine records were mostly in print. Eric’s creation was a game-changer, and quickly became a much-used platform, with a vast databased of community driven wine reviews. Today it hosts more than 13 million tasting notes.
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