In the past, discovering a new wine might have meant browsing a bottle shop, flipping through a sommelier's list, or seeking the advice of an older friend with a taste for the finer things. It was a slow, intimidating process, one that often came with a sense of performance or pressure – especially for younger, less experienced drinkers.
Today, it often starts with a swipe. On TikTok and Instagram, wine is undergoing a digital renaissance, becoming less about exclusivity and more about exploration, fun, and personal identity. For young drinkers, especially Gen Z and younger millennials, wine has evolved from a stuffy, pretentious drink to something that could translate into community, spontaneity, and cultural relevance – something that wine hasn’t always been known for, but is slowly starting to embrace.
TikTok, in particular, has proven to be a surprisingly fertile ground for wine education and enthusiasm, with breakout trends like #WineTok and influencers with usernames like @themillennialsomm or @winetokqueen who blend tasting notes with pop culture references, unfiltered opinions, and deeply personal experiences. It’s becoming less about what’s in the glass and more about what it says about you, your vibe, and your aesthetic. Instead of giving lectures on terroir or vintage, forcing wine drinkers to distinguish between varietal and vintage, videos are highlighting budget steals, chillable reds that pair with playlists, and low-intervention bottles worth hauling to a picnic or a house party.
The democratization of wine knowledge is breaking down long-held barriers, allowing young people to engage on their own terms and keep the community of wine casual, playful, and, perhaps most importantly, welcoming.
One of the most transformative effects of platforms like TikTok is their ability to make wine feel approachable and information accessible in a way that traditional media simply hasn’t been able to replicate. Videos explaining what tannins are, or debunking myths about sulphites, get tens or hundreds of thousands of views. What’s fascinating is how wine education is no longer linear and stagnant – it’s fragmented, fast, and visual. You could learn what pét-nat means, what glass to use, or even how to chill a bottle using a frozen bag of peas, all while scrolling your own curated feed.
Algorithms, by design, amplify content that resonates. When a creator nails a relatable, funny take on orange wine, boxed wine, or the tyranny of overpriced Cabernet Sauvignon, it spreads far faster than any traditional wine column ever could, and it sticks, because it’s entertaining.
This cultural shift is also changing how brands approach younger audiences, or at least those who are paying attention. Instead of stuffy tasting room experiences or glossy bottle shots, many wineries are embracing raw, unfiltered storytelling and the younger generations are actively seeking it out. A few wineries are starting to lean into this shift in earnest, understanding that the demographics of the wine drinker are not only evolving but expanding to include audiences not traditionally targeted.
Rascallion Wines, for example, has positioned itself as a brand committed to speaking directly to younger drinkers, with bold packaging, conversational messaging, and a tone that’s refreshingly unpretentious by design.
But, the truth is they remain the exception rather than the rule. Much of the industry is still painfully slow to adapt, clinging to outdated tropes, complicated tasting notes, and a tone of voice that feels more at home in a cellar than on a screen. The disconnect is glaring, especially when so many potential wine lovers are forming habits and preferences based more on digital cues and less on critical reviews.
The irony is that wine, arguably one of the most expressive, story-rich, sensorial products in the world, is being outpaced by newer, more agile industries when it comes to digital storytelling. Many brands still underestimate the value of letting go of control, of letting creators be messy, funny, and real. Meanwhile, young drinkers are forming opinions, building loyalty, and recommending wines to friends based on what resonates with them emotionally and aesthetically, not what scores 95 points from a has-been critic.
Of course, some pushback is inevitable. The wine world has long been built on prestige, expertise, and tradition. For many, those things are sacred. Some industry veterans express concern that fast-paced content lacks depth, or that the culture of virality risks oversimplifying centuries of craft. But the counterargument is compelling: if wine remains gatekept behind jargon, hierarchy, and high prices, it will fail to connect with the very generation that could carry it forward.
What’s clear is that social media isn’t a passing phase – it is a permanent shift in how wine is discovered, shared, and understood. And while not every bottle needs to go viral, every brand should be paying attention. Because in today’s feed-driven culture, the most important label might not be on the bottle, it might just be in the caption.