WHAT’S GOOD FOR HOLLYWOOD MAY BE GOOD FOR WINE

(THIS NEWSLETTER HAS BEEN 100% WRITTEN BY A HUMAN -- ME)

Wine made by Gen-Zers for Gen-Zers

“… If your time to you is worth savin’
And you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’”

B. Dylan

Mr. Dylan is our Mr. Shakespeare. I think, wine folks, it’s worth remembering the former’s words because the times, they have already changed. Perhaps though, there’s salvation.

In a recent New York Times article, Tom Rothman, in a piece titled, “Hollywood “Needs Regular Jolts of Creativity. It Just Got One”, I believe should be applied to wine. In it, Mr. Rothman cites a recent development in the film industry that’s apropos for the wine industry to pay attention.

To wit: “Hollywood has just had its own metaphorical wind shift, upending conventional box office wisdom, but it’s important to understand what exactly happened, what the lessons are — and why a veteran like me is so excited about it. … ‘Backrooms,’ a horror movie directed by Kane Parsons, a YouTube creator who just turned 21, opened to an astounding $81.5 million in America. A second horror film, “Iron Lung,” made and self-distributed by Mark Fischbach, another online creator, has grossed over $50 million worldwide. Perhaps most significant of all, “Obsession,” a horror film directed by Curry Barker, a 26-year-old YouTube creator, crossed $200 million at the box office this weekend and surpassed the latest “Star Wars” film. …

“… Hollywood has just had its own metaphorical wind shift, upending conventional box office wisdom, but it’s important to understand what exactly happened, what the lessons are — and why a veteran like me is so excited about it. …”

The lesson for wine? Get them You Tubers into the cellars!

I’m half joshing here, but I bet there are the young Joshes, and Jodys, and Jamals, and Josés and Judys out there, with the knowledge and wherewithal and chops, to be taken seriously and ushered into wine cellars all over the country; and get them to making the next generation of wine.

Put Gen-Zers in the cellars, in the labs, in the vineyards

New blood. New wisdom. New taste and New vision are what wine needs. And it needs it now! We’re at the Maginot Line and it’s time for desperate measures. By employing younger people in key production slots, it will redirect wine’s approach toward capturing the younger folk among us, take them under the tent, and appeal more to their tastes.

By doing so, there will be a clear path toward resuscitating an industry that has become so moribund, paralyzed so quickly that stasis has set in. Rigor mortis is sure to arrive next if younger, vigorous, strong Gen-Zers are passed by or marginalized. Additionally, bringing 20- and 30-somethings into the fold will give them purpose, standing, and reasons to be optimistic and more social.

It’ll be a win/win for wine and for our next generation to feel a part of something noble and worthy.

Or in the words of B. Dylan, “Get out of the way if you can’t lend your hand …”

And, as Tom Rothman concludes as it pertains to the film industry:

“The integration of independent creativity with industry influence is a good thing all around. It offers exposure for, and help to, new voices, giving them more visibility and opportunity, and it promotes the kind of originality that Hollywood desperately needs.”