(Manfred Klimek)
There are crises that do not merely mark an end, but the beginning of something else. The cliché that ‘every crisis is also an opportunity’ is, nevertheless, nonsense – just like the agonisingly prescribed positive thinking. But what opportunities does the current wine crisis actually present? Sales are falling, entire harvests are left unharvested, and the number of wine drinkers is shrinking. And yet this very crisis could give wings to parts of the hospitality industry – and, in part, steer the world of wine in a new direction that is, in fact, an old one.
For nowhere can wine be reimagined quite like where it belongs: not just by the fireside or in the garden, but at the table.
The great uncertainty in the hospitality sector
Just a few decades ago, wine was a given in restaurants. A glass of Riesling with lunch, a Dezi of Claret after work – wine was part of everyday culture. Today, however, wine is at risk of disappearing from the hospitality sector, which is itself in the midst of a crisis. According to a survey from spring 2024, still influenced by the pandemic, 70 per cent of people hardly ever go out for a meal, and of the rest, the majority drink beer, followed by non-alcoholic drinks, and then – perhaps – wine.
The restaurant, once a showcase for wine, has become a platform for cocktails and wine alternatives – and that’s not such a bad thing. But has wine lost out? Or is it simply biding its time until its next moment in the spotlight?
Everything remains different
The hospitality industry stands at a crossroads – and it can decide whether to take wine with it or leave it behind. And it can decide which wines it will favour in future. For when mass production disappears, class remains. When industry steps back, space opens up for high-quality individuality.
The hospitality industry can help lead this change. It can redefine wine. Not as a status symbol, but as a companion. Not as a price driver, but as a cultural moment.
New models, new connections
Where this is succeeding, something new is already emerging: small wine bars which, whilst not increasing in number, are at least flourishing steadily; trendy, young restaurants that set fair prices and offer their guests wine as a discovery, rather than – as has been the case for years – as a gamble. Berlin, Vienna, Bolzano, Munich, Leipzig – wherever sommeliers also act as hosts, you can sense that something is changing.
Wine doesn’t need to get louder; it needs to become more authentic.
One bottle less, but a better one. One more conversation, rather than a menu slapped down with 300 items. And restaurateurs who explain why an artisanal wine must cost at least 45 euros – and why that is not a luxury, but sustainability in its purest and wisest form.
Less choice, more individuality
The new dining scene won’t need a wine list of superlatives. It needs a wine list with courage, ideas – and yes: even ‘populist’ wines that cry out for a second glass. All of this can also bear a distinctive stamp and be that stamp itself.
When guests once again feel confidence – in the selection, the quality, the winemakers (including men) – wine will once again become part of the experience.
The hospitality industry as the guardian of wine
Winemakers alone cannot solve the crisis. But the restaurant industry can mitigate it – by making wine more visible, more enjoyable to taste, and more of an experience. By bringing it back to where it belongs: at the heart of the action at the table. That takes courage. And in some places, a little more of a shift in thinking than usual. But it also requires a realisation: that wine is not a problem, but a potential – the potential for a lived, joyful moment.
A glass of the future
Perhaps that is the lesson of this year, 2025: the wine crisis is not merely a crash, but a fresh start (which, unfortunately, not all winemakers will be part of). Fewer bottles on extensive wine lists, more glasses to enjoy. Less calculation, more connection. That’s the way, aha, aha, we like it.
Aha, aha!