I have seen the future of wine education and Their name is Luca.

One of the most compelling data points I’ve heard all year is that alcohol sales in the U.S., including fine wine, have continued to grow at a steady rate since 2015.

Despite all the claims to the contrary, people in the U.S. have been increasing their wine consumption consistently over the last ten years.

I first heard this when a top Texas buyer and a leading Texas chef told a group of Italian food and wine producers that they are both seeing this 10-year trend in their Excel sheets.

The week after our Taste of Italy trade fair in Houston, where the buyer and chef spoke, the Times published the following graft that shows that, yes, even though there have been peaks and valleys, the growth is steady.

Screenshot via NYTimes.com.

In the light of the above, why are European wineries having so much trouble connecting with U.S. consumers (beyond all the current tariff madness)?

In my view, the disconnect is the fact that we are still talking about wine as if it were 2001. More than two decades after the advent of wine blogging, the advent of wine-focused social media, “natural” wine, and the whole “innovating while respecting tradition” movement, isn’t time to drop the suggested serving temperatures and food pairings from the tech sheets? I cite those two banal examples because they reflect anachronistic traces of how we perceive and market wine. Haven’t we moved past the “white with fish, red with meat” era? “Goest great with roast meat and aged cheeses…,” in case you happen to have those dishes handy.

As my own work is pivoting to the new era of wine culture in the U.S., I’ve been thinking a lot of the above.

And I have many thoughts to share about one of the most exciting wine communicators in a long while. His name is Luca and he lives on the second floor (Gen Xers, you know what I’m talking about).

Seriously, I met this dude in Brescia thanks to my friend Giovanni (of Franciacorta fame) and I was blown away by his approach.

Check out his Instagram here. Stay tuned for more inspirations…