Empowering young Pinot lovers

"Something that sounds a little bit familiar today," he says 13 years later, speaking at Pinot Noir New Zealand 2025, a day after 400 people, many of them young, paid to attend Pinot Palooza in Christchurch.

Dan, who is now Chair of Wine Victoria but was not speaking in that capacity, recalled being a young sommelier "pumped" to share the wine world with his peers, while seeing a generation of wine drinkers dismissed for not being serious enough, not knowing enough, not liking the right wines, or daring to ask for the likes of biodynamic certification or natural wines. Thankfully things have changed, he said, while nonetheless sharing advice for those fearful the industry cannot attract a younger customer base. "The fact is young people are into wine. They are just not interested in the people who are telling them that they aren't."

Over the past three years more than 35,000 people have attended Pinot Palooza events in Australia, with audiences largely aged under 45, looking for experiences and fun, interested in stories of place and people, and drinking less but spending more, Dan said. "And they want a feeling of inclusivity not exclusivity."

New Zealand "showed up in force" at the first Pinot Palooza in 2012. "As a young sommelier with a room full of his wine heroes, that was pretty amazing" he said, still "incredibly grateful" that Kiwi producers "took a punt". Last year (after a four-year Covid hiatus) New Zealand was the top region by wine sales, followed by Tasmania then the Adelaide Hills. "And at the same time we clutch our pearls and say, 'young people are not into wine; they are not educated... We don't need to educate. We need to empower."

That includes a reduced fixation on points and growing awareness of the power of occasions. "Critical assessment of wine is important, but it never speaks to how it integrates into anyone's life," Dan said. "For me the right wine for the right occasion is more important than the right pointed wine."

Sommeliers hold a great deal of sway with Melbourne alone holding between 70,000 and 80,000 restaurant seats. With a "hyper conservative" calculation of 5% having a sommelier or wine programme that's interaction with close to 4,000 people per service twice a day, per week, per month, per year, he said. "That's some seriously underestimated influence and consumer intel... especially when you consider that Australia remains the number one export market for New Zealand Pinot Noir."

He remains as confident about the future of Pinot Noir as ever, because the audience is there. "We just need to embrace and support them and let the next generation of voices feel welcome. Be hospitable."