Letter to the editor: on wine’s cyclical versus structural challenges

Dear editor,

I appreciate Matthew Deller MW’s thoughtful response to my piece on wine’s demographic challenges (“Wine is facing a cyclical adjustment, not crisis,” November 13). His historical context and industry experience provide valuable perspective, and I’m glad the piece sparked substantive debate.

Interestingly, Deller’s response acknowledges what I see as the core challenge, though we interpret it differently. He writes: “The social and cultural structures that once facilitated progression from casual interest to sustained engagement – family dining, workplace hospitality, restaurant culture – have weakened.”

This is precisely the structural problem I described. If the infrastructure that created wine drinkers has weakened, how does wine recruit the next generation?

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