Episode 194: Out With Low-Alc? BuzzBallz and XXL Lead a Growing Trend

The siren call of a BuzzBall is hard to ignore. The neon sphere at your checkout counter is the $5 (or less) cocktail fueling a $500 million empire. In 2024, RTD sales spiked 16.5% while other booze categories stayed flat, and they show no signs of slowing down.  In the wine world, XXL, the so-called “Moscato without manners” pushes the same boundary with candy-sweet flavors and 15–20% ABV, flipping the script on the sober-curious trend. In this episode, resident spirits expert Kara Newman breaks down what’s driving the RTD boom, with a curated BuzzBallz tasting. Writer-at-large Reggie Solomon brings us a Wine Enthusiast first: a tasting note for BlowPop, plus tips for enjoying XXL—yes, even over your salad. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

The young people, it seems, are usually to blame. In 1998, The New York Times said, “Young people, the 21- to 29-year-olds, are turning away from wine…For the $13-billion-a-year wine industry, the loss of so many potential consumers couldn't come at a worse time.” In 2016, The New York Post ran a headline, “Millennials are ruining the American wine industry.” Fast-forward to the current generational panic in the wine industry—this time, regarding the 13- to 29-year-olds that make up Generation Z. The wine industry is currently facing a mountain of struggles, including shifting consumer preferences, oversupply in many regions, rising costs and tariffs along with a growing—and loud—anti-alcohol movement. Meanwhile, older generations, Baby Boomers specifically, are pulling back from their previous levels of wine consumption.  So, why are the kids—half of whom are underage—getting all the blame yet again? We invited Wine Enthusiast Contributor Kate Dingwall, who has been covering all the latest Gen Z research, along with Jess Druery, the Gen Z founder of playful wine brand Whiny Baby, onto the podcast to discuss what's actually going on with young people and wine. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

The May announcement of the first-ever American Pope, Leo XIV, still has the whole world buzzing. While Robert Francis Prevost’s hometown of Chicago has its own distinct wine and spirits culture (Malört, we’re looking at you), his move to Vatican City has landed him in the center of the biggest wine scene no one’s ever heard of. That’s right: The Vatican has a wine scene—and a secretly influential one, too. Surrounded by Rome, the tiny city-state is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church and homebase of the Pope. It’s also the biggest wine importer per capita in the entire world, as reported by news and website editor James Bayley of the Drinks Business—making it roughly double that of France and Italy. We invited Bayley onto the podcast to discuss his recent deep-dive into how the Vatican became the world’s most surprising wine powerhouse, and what the future may hold for Vatican-made wine. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

Sonal Holland, India's first-ever master sommelier, had a feeling that wine would be big business on the subcontinent back when she first entered the wine scene nearly 20 years ago. "I could see that it was going to grow, and there were no qualified wine professionals in the country," she tells us. "I don't think anyone was sitting there thinking, 'Oh, let's have an MW from India,'" she admits. "But somehow there was a voice inside of me that said, 'No, this, this can be something real.'" That instinct turned out to be wildly accurate. Between 2023 and 2027, Euromonitor predicts an annual growth rate of 12% in wine consumption in India. That could translate to an industry worth $700 million by 2030. Tune into this episode to hear more about wine's rise in India, and what it could mean for the global wine market. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

While rosy-hued bottles of White Zinfandel were fixtures on dinner tables and at parties in the 1980s, the seemingly buoyant beverage sparked an infamous dark story, one involving fraud and the killing of one of California’s most famous grape brokers.  Chris Walker, an investigative journalist based in Denver, Colorado, learned about this story a few years ago and began to unravel the tale. What resulted is Blood Vines, a new nine-episode narrative podcast that dives into the saga. On this episode of the Wine Enthusiast Podcast, Chris joins Wine Enthusiast Writer-at-Large Matt Kettmann to chat about making the show and what the story reveals about how we make and drink wine. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

Actor Kyle MacLachlan didn't just want to slap his name on a bottle of wine, the quality is the most important thing to him. He and his partner/winemaker, Dan Wampfler, join this week's Podcast to discuss their Washington winery, Pursued By Bear, and what makes it and their chemistry so special.  Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

Interested in trying cannabis-infused drinks but not sure where to start? This week's episode follows two conversations between Digital Managing Editor Sara Ventiera and two leaders in the cannabis beverage space for expert tips and insights into exploring the growing trend, where to get them and, more importantly what they taste like and how they make you feel.  Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

This week's episode follows two conversations between writer-at-large Danielle Callegari and an American somm working in Thailand and a Thai somm working in Brooklyn to discuss the  burgeoning wine scene in Thailand. While the rest of the world raises concerns over what's to come for the wine industry, Thailand is newly enthused and excited to learn.  Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

In this installment of the Wine Enthusiast Podcast, spirits reviewer Kara Newman reveals what industry insiders are whispering about as Trump’s tariffs take hold. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast

Every year, Wine Enthusiast releases a new edition of the vintage chart, a tool that's long been critical to collectors. Vintage charts help pinpoint bottles peaking in quality—and those that may be past their prime. The most recent version debuted in the Winter Issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine.  But in a time when climate chaos—unprecedented periods of drought, heat waves, floods, fire and more—is rampant, how should one read a vintage chart? And can we still trust them? In this episode of the Wine Enthusiast Podcast, we've tapped Writer-at-Large Christina Pickard for her thoughts. Pickard reviews wines from Australia, New Zealand, England and New York for our publication and has for years been one of the many voices helping craft the vintage chart. Is there a guest you want us to interview? A topic you want us to cover? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]. Remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Go to WineEnthusiast.com for the latest beverage industry coverage and all the tools you need to bring your love of wine to life. And wait, there's more! Get over 70% OFF the original cover price by subscribing to Wine Enthusiast magazine today!    FOLLOW US: TikTok: @wineenthusiast Instagram: @wineenthusiast Facebook: @WineEnthusiast X: @WineEnthusiast