The owner of a Sonoma County winery believes the industry is dying because baby boomers are.
Jon Phillips, the owner of Sonoma County winery Inspiration Vineyards and Winery, told The Post that the population decline of the industry’s top wine-consuming generation has led to a recent downturn in sales.
“A lot of people have a misconception that the boomers are drinking less,” he said. “This cannot be emphasized enough: It’s not because the boomers are drinking less, it’s because there are less boomers.”
Phillips, a boomer himself at 65 who has produced wine since 1999, says Gen X has been unable to fill the void left by their forebears.
“These were the people that were really responsible for joining wine clubs and Gen X that came after boomers just weren’t really into wine to the same level that the boomers were into wine,” he said.
At one point, he struggled with his wine club subscription service, but not because of demand or inferior wine.
“It’s because my customers literally were dying,” he said.
