Wine with Leslie: Young people are drinking less and less wine, I picked three they should try
I decided to recommend the kind of wines that my younger colleagues (and some older hip ones) love Picture: Alamy
Is wine drinking out of fashion? The short answer is ‘it depends on who you ask’. Global consumption is certainly down and more traditional wine regions like Bordeaux are really struggling.
Yes we are drinking less as a whole, and younger generations are drinking significantly less, but wine is not dead yet. The customers I see in wine bars like L’Atitude 51, MacCurtain Wine Cellar, Loose Canon and Bar Pez often skew 20 years younger than me and the beginners wine appreciation course that I teach in Rathmines College every January and September always has a high proportion of 20-somethings.
I write this just as Bordeaux’s 2026 en primeur campaign begins, where journalists and buyers pass judgment on last year’s vintage. There was a time when this was major news in my world but not any more, especially as last year’s campaign was such a disaster. With the world on fire, nobody I know is interested in buying wine futures, yet, as usual, it seems likely that prices will increase for the 2025 vintage (which produced a high quality but small crop).
I decided to recommend the kind of wines that my younger colleagues (and some older hip ones) love instead; the kind of wine producers that give me hope for the future.
Below are two reds best served chilled and a pet-nat fizz, all wines made by growers who care about their sense of place and who farm their grapes biodynamically with a keen focus on respecting their environment. All three fit into the ‘natural wine’ category but don’t be put off, they are vibrant, fruit-focused and pleasurable. Yes, a traditional claret drinker might not like them, but these are not for drinking with Tournedos Rossini steak but with barbecue, pizza, tapas or on their own. Enjoy!
For some reason, I have not featured Puszta before, despite having tasted their wines regularly (e.g. in MacCurtain Wine Cellar and Green Man).
A blend of zweigelt, st laurent, and pinot noir, this is vibrant, juicy, and fruit-focused. Serve chilled (as it says on the label). A perfect wine for this time of year, for the first barbecue of the season, perhaps?
- MacCurtain Wine Cellar; Lilith; Green Man; Whelehans; 64 Wine; Pinto; Baggot St Wines.
Another wine making its debut here. This is a bone-dry pet-nat fizz with delightful lime, lemon, and lemon balm aromas, a soft light mousse on the palate tasting zingy, tangy, and fresh. A blend of biodynamic-grown grüner veltliner, pinot blanc, riesling, and red riesling (a new one on me too). The Schödl Grün Grün Grüner is also worth trying — honey-laced ripe fruits but also zesty and dry.
- L’Atitude 51; JJ O’Driscolls; Wunderkaffe; World Wide Wines; Fíon Eile; 64; Green Man; lecaveau.ie.
From Maremma on the Mediterranean Tuscan coast, this is designed to reflect the landscape and be a “joyous peasant wine”. Another red wine best served chilled or cool, a blend of alicante nero, carignan, mourvèdre, sangiovese, and alicante bouschet. Unfiltered, unfined with no added sulphur and packed with cherry fruits with a touch of balsamic and wild berries. The bianco and rosato are also worth trying.
- Sheridans; MacCurtain Wine Cellar; 64 Wines; GreenMan; Loose Cannon; Independents.
Chido is a brand new Mexican-style lager from the always brilliant Rascals Brewing.
No need for a lime wedge as this is brewed with lime zest. Pale gold colour, aromas of light malt and lime, crisp and briskly clean on the palate, lively, zingy and fresh. More characterful and balanced than the big brands. Available on tap in The Roundy, Impala & Rascals HQ.
- Bradleys; JJ O’Driscolls; Matsons; SuperValu (e.g. Fields, Quish’s); McHughs; Redmonds; independents; chidobeer.com
