Content updated August, 2026
The wine industry decline is being driven, in part, by the rise of expensive wine by the glass, a shift that has made ordering wine feel risky, costly, and intimidating. Since Coravin changed the by-the-glass model in 2013, the humble, affordable everyday wine has quietly disappeared from menus. Here’s why that matters, and what the industry needs to do differently.
When Coravin entered the wine universe in 2013, the vinous planets realigned. Almost overnight you could order a glass of wine that cost $15, $25, or more, and know that the wine would be in perfect condition.
It seemed like a huge boon for consumers and for the wine industry.
But was it? Or did the wine industry shoot itself in the foot?
The House Wine Era: When Affordable Everyday Wine Was Enough
For a minute, it’s worth remembering what preceded high priced wine-by-the-glass. In short: simple inexpensive whites and simple cheap reds.
Depending on the restaurant, these “house wines” could be decently tasty quaffs (as you might get in a good café in Europe), or they could be innocuously “plain Jane.” But either way, the wine was effortlessly serviceable.
Sometimes, you had no idea who the producer was. You just ordered the house wine, and then relaxed into the generic bliss of not needing to know the region, the grapes, the barrel aging regimen, the vintage, or anything else. House wines were easy; comforting in a way. And because they didn’t cost a lot, they were risk-free. You didn’t hesitate before ordering them.
How Expensive Wine By the Glass Changed Everything
All of that is now gone. Pricey wines-by-the-glass are ubiquitous and big business.
Such wines have theoretically helped the wine business by allowing consumers to taste exalted wines they might otherwise never have tasted.
But that idea has come with a lot of collateral damage. Because the not-so-subtle message behind expensive wines-by-the-glass is that anything less than expensive is just too embarrassing to order.
Better to get a cocktail. (Cocktails don’t have an image problem).
Wine List Prices Too High And the Real Cost Is Consumer Confidence
Everywhere I go these days, people talk about how expensive wine has become. And, as nearly every US wine list attests, many wine list prices have reached levels that feel exclusionary, and that’s only one side of the problematic coin.
The other side is that we’ve turned our backs on humble wines that are simply good. These were the inexpensive every-night wines that carried whole cultures forward. They carried no pretense of greatness. They just wanted a place in front of you at the bar or on the dinner table.
Unfortunately, today’s signal is clear: good isn’t good enough. The wine industry trends toward premium-only, and anything less feels like settling. Only stratospherically priced wines seem to count.
Wine Industry Decline Starts With Courage, or the Lack of It
Are we surprised then that large segments of the wine-drinking public now hesitate before ordering wine?
In so many situations, good, honest, affordable everyday wine would hit the nail perfectly on the head. If only wineries would have the courage to make them, and restaurants have the courage to offer them.
Want more insight into wine industry trends and what’s shaping how we drink? Subscribe to WineSpeed, Karen MacNeil’s weeklywine intelligence briefing, and stay ahead of what’s happening in the world of wine.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wine Industry Decline
Why Are Wine List Prices Too High In Restaurants?
Wine list prices in the US have climbed steadily as restaurants shifted from affordable house wines toward premium wines-by-the-glass, partly enabled by tools like Coravin. The result is that the average restaurant wine list now skews heavily toward bottles and pours that cost $15–$30 per glass, a price point that creates hesitation rather than enjoyment. Many diners who would happily order a simple, good-value wine find no such option on the menu, so they opt for a cocktail instead. This price inflation represents a structural failure: restaurants are optimizing for margin on high-end pours while losing the everyday wine drinker entirely. Bringing back honest, affordable options, the kind that cost $8–$10 a glass and taste exactly as they should, is one practical fix the industry can make right now.
What Is Causing The Wine Industry Decline?
Wine industry decline is being driven by a combination of price intimidation, cultural complexity, and the disappearance of affordable everyday wine. As wine-by-the-glass programs moved upmarket, the low-barrier entry point, the simple house wine, was quietly eliminated. Without an approachable, inexpensive option, large segments of the wine-drinking public have shifted to cocktails, spirits, and non-alcoholic alternatives that feel less fraught. Declining sales among younger consumers reflect this same dynamic: wine feels expensive, confusing, and high-stakes in a way that beer and cocktails do not. The industry’s focus on premiumization has come at the cost of accessibility, and reversing that trend requires both wineries and restaurants to value good, honest, affordable wine as much as they currently value great, expensive wine.
What Happened To The House Wine Restaurant Tradition?
The house wine restaurant tradition, offering a simple, reliable, inexpensive white or red without any attached complexity or prestige, declined sharply after the rise of premium by-the-glass programs in the 2010s. Where European café culture still routinely offers an unpretentious carafe wine at a reasonable price, American restaurants have largely replaced that model with curated by-the-glass lists anchored by expensive, varietally specific wines. The shift was financially rational for restaurants in the short term, but it removed the frictionless entry point that made wine ordering easy. House wines didn’t require knowledge, confidence, or a financial commitment. Their disappearance has contributed directly to wine industry decline by making wine feel inaccessible to the casual drinker who simply wants something good with dinner.
