18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JUNE 19-25, 2025 www.montereycountynow.comcom that the Baby Boomers’ embrace of wine had convinced producers that other generations would follow suit. That it appears not to be happening is the cause of concern. Winemaking is farming, and farming comes with risks—the whims of the weather, for instance—and costs. One cannot simply plant a vineyard and start making wine. It takes four to seven years before vines produce quality grapes. And that’s just a start when it comes to the upfront costs of producing wine. Growers in any particular region are on similar schedules, meaning demand for labor and transportation are under pressure. Producing $4,000 worth of grapes might run between $3,000- $3,500, depending on circumstances. After all of that, a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, will need to sit for a few years before a winemaker can even put it on shelves. Simply put, making wine is expensive. Consumer prices reflect that. But for Langhoff it’s not an insurmountable problem. “One of the things other industries do well is meet their demographic where they are,” she explains. Beverage companies taking advantage of market trends might offer a coffee drink, a spritzer, a “nontraditional” wine and a fine wine. “That hits all segments,” she continues. “[Wineries] do different tiers of the same wine. I don’t get it.” Bowlus points to Napa wineries, where some labels wield their prestige from the tasting rooms to the wine clubs. “You have to get on a waiting list, and then I have to buy four or five bottles at $600 a bottle,” he says. “Napa is smoke and mirrors. The younger generation sees through that.” In the perceived crises—the tumbling sales, the no- or low-alcohol movement, the generation turning to other options—Langhoff sees potential. “Downturns are opportunities to reinvent, but the wine industry has always pushed back on that,” she observes. “We’re traditionalists in the wine space. The wine industry would hate me for this, but I would create spritzers. If you have an entry-level wine, why not?” ••• The younger generations are not necessarily such an enigma. This time it is Scheid who makes the coffee analogy. With free-trade, different beans and roasts, milk alternatives and the array of drinks, she observes: “Nobody just orders coffee.” Generation Z, she adds, has been able to stream music and shows on demand, to communicate readily on different platforms, to order favorite foods delivered: “That’s a tough thing for wine to overcome.” And yet, as Langhoff has noted, it is not necessarily so. There are already wines for different occasions—sparkling for celebrations, Rosé for warm summer afternoons, table wines for an easy family meal. Langhoff identifies Scheid as one of the area wineries doing a good job of breaking the rut of tradition. And Scheid recognizes the trends. But it was not a desire to introduce the young adult market to wine that led to the family winery’s lower-alcohol label, Sunny with a Chance of Flowers. “I’m in my earliest 60s,” she says. Even older people spend a day at events or with friends, and the alcoholic weight of a typical wine can begin to tell. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a great-tasting, low-alcohol wine.’ That was a big piece of it. The young people will love it, but a lot of other people will, as well.” Sunny with a Chance of Flowers measures in around 9-percent alcohol, compared to the 14-percent range for traditional wines. The winery produces two Rosés, still and “bubbly”—their word—and four other varietals, including a Cabernet Sauvignon. All are made with no added sugars. “The branding is positive, it’s not overly aspirational—this is a wine for the right moment,” Scheid says. “We talked so much about premiumization over the last 20 years. We need to have a spectrum.” Scheid also recently introduced a house-poured spritzer at the winery’s Carmel tasting room. And in a move that further ripples traditional waters, they teamed with Josh Rosenstein, a New York chef, on the canned wine spritzer line, Hoxie. In a signal that light, fizzy wine drinks might gain acceptance, Food & Wine wrote of Rosenstein, “Meet the guy making it OK to drink wine spritzers.” Hoxie’s wine spritzer line includes flavors like lemon ginger Rosé, strawberry Rosé and peach blossom blush. “Hoxie is flavor-driven,” Scheid notes. “Just because something is a trend, we also want to drink it.” Lost in the concerns over the market correction that sent wine consumption into its slump and the swings of the younger generation are positives that Scheid has tapped into. People want options, they want sustainability, they want artisanal and they want a narrative. “We’re not going to beat White Claw,” Scheid points out. But a chef-driven spritzer and sustainably farmed wine fits a niche. Across Monterey County, wineries are filling those interests—dry farming methods, micro-terroirs, winemakers and land with stories to tell. The aspects of farming and making wine that set the price point also fit the interest in artisanal products with a narrative. Perhaps that is why the hand-wringing among winemakers and distributors that expanded during the boom or beverage industry leaders tied to market share is not as apparent among the small wineries along the Central Coast. The approach may be paying dividends. A Wine Market Council study reveals that despite the reduced interest in alcohol, those ages 21-34 still make up 29 percent of all Americans who report drinking wine. Vintners in the county have cumulatively scaled back production, although a large part of that was due more to weather and wildfires than shifting market demand. Grape harvest peaked in 2014, with almost 46,000 acres bearing fruit. In the year after the 2020 fires, that figure had fallen to 41,972. According to the most recent Monterey County Crop and Livestock Report, Scheid partnered with Hoxie to produce wine-based spritzers for the young adult market. Heidi Scheid of Scheid Vineyards with bottles of the winery’s low-alcohol label, Sunny with a Chance of Flowers. “Scheid is doing a good job,” says consultant Allison Langhoff of A+J Partners, who encourages wineries to reach new demographics. ELISABETH FALL/FALLFOTO KAREN LOUTZENHEISER
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