frequently encourages trips up north to learn more about those wineries. “SF Wine Center and Indie think of our businesses as educational gateways to North Bay wine country,” says McGonigle. McGonigle, who has 30 years of experience in the restaurant and retail wine businesses, sees younger wine consumers caring “less and less every day” about wine scores. The exception is wine collectors. “There are so many sources for scoring. Not all members of the two younger generations are familiar with all those online and print publications,” says
Guests enjoy a variety of flights on the Indie Wine Bar patio at SF Wine Center near Levi’s Plaza. [Photo courtesy Brian McGonigle]
fun, design-forward labels and easy-open closures like screw caps. “We’re seeing sales for crisp, easy, lean light whites and chillable reds. They’re easier to pair. They also tend to cost less,” says Daly. One trend noticed by local establishments is that fewer people in Napa’s wine industry are drinking Napa wines. “This year, Napa winemakers and industry folks drank French wines all summer. Sometimes they enjoyed Italian wines and wines from Sonoma County too,” says Daly. She says the issue relates to “getting away from what’s right in front of your face” every day and saving Napa wines for special occasions. “That’s something we see across the board for non-industry folks too. Napa wines are viewed as an investment, something special. That can be good, but it can also discourage having a Napa wine every day,” says Daly. Farther south in San Francisco, about a two-minute walk from Levi’s Plaza, SF Wine Center is seeing regular crowds of millennials and members of Gen Z come to purchase wine, taste wine at its Indie Wine & Beer Bar, and store wine in its climate- controlled lockers. “We offer over 75 wines by the glass, half-glass or third-of-a-glass flights with the option for guests to design their own tastings by country or variety of wine they’d like to explore. We understand that there can be a little price sensitivity for some members of Gen Z exploring wine. So we don’t mark up our wine list like a typical wine bar restaurant,” says Brian McGonigle, founder and president of the SF Wine Center. Napa and Sonoma County wine producers often come to the center to share their latest releases and library wines. This
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