Tinned Fish - Part II
If you’re someone who cares deeply about wine and spirits (which I’m guessing you are because you’re reading this blog), can you imagine walking into a store in 2026 and buying something completely generic?
By “generic,” I don’t mean bland or boring necessarily. I mean literally a product that belongs to a certain category of booze, but is nondescript—a bottle where you don’t know who made it, from where it was sourced, or how it was produced. Think general Scotch, Bourbon, red wine, or perhaps more specifically Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. No specifics. No information about the brand. No real selling point, other than the price. Just something tasty to open and drink without really thinking about the liquid itself.
Other than the Kirkland (Costco) vodka that I purchase for various uses around the house (and the occasional Vesper), the idea of wasting calories and liver functionality on anything I’m not super interested in is antithetical to my current situation. I’m 46, trying to balance my cholesterol, and I only give myself so much alcohol per week these days. Taking into account the circumstances and how much I love learning about what’s in the bottle, why in the fuck would I drink something generic at this point?
I don’t think I’m alone here.
Now, before you get the wrong idea, this is not an argument against private label booze. Millions of people around the world are simply looking for an inexpensive buzz (I’ve been one of them on numerous occasions) and generic alcohol often fits the bill. If you’re running a supermarket, a gas station, or a corporate chain restaurant, creating a generic private label is a great way to boost your margin because it’s highly unlikely that your consumers are going to ask about direct provenance.
I’m also not ranting against private labels with complete transparency. Anajak Thai here in Los Angeles does a white wine private label wine with my friends the Matthiassons and it’s fantastic. Steve and Jill’s names are also front and center on the bottle, as are their photos.
What baffles me, however, is when boutique and independent retailers think that creating generic, nondescript labels for their curious customers is a winning idea, especially when the buyers themselves aren’t all that excited about the product. I don’t know one retail buyer in America who’s personally looking for an “everyday house red” or a “workhorse Bourbon” for their home bar, so why offer that to the customers looking to follow your lead?
It’s like saying: “Personally, I would never drink this, but I think you should.” The reason people go to boutique retailers is to find out exactly what the passionate staff members are drinking. That’s the whole point of shopping there.
Which brings me back to the subject from this week’s earlier blog post about the evolution of tinned fish and the American palate: there has never been a more educated audience for wine and spirits than the current populace. In fact, the folks on social media are so well-versed about their favorite hobbies that 99% of the time they know more than professionals. These people eat, drink, live, and sleep their favorite brands.
Yet, for some reason, a certain percentage of the industry thinks its going to put something generic in a bottle, give it a generic label, and expect these same people to just go along with whatever they say. Why would they do that given their enthusiasm for the category?
It may come back again someday, but for the time being the era of the wine and spirits merchant is either dead or dormant. Specialized boutiques that know how to curate are continuing to find an audience, but not because they’re not creating their own private labels. Instead, they’re putting together allocations and bottle lists that bring in a crowd. Like any trend, consumers are attracted to anyone with their finger on the pulse. They want to drink what’s new and cool, not some boring value-driven label that saves them a few bucks.
As older generations continue to pass away, there are fewer people looking for a nice bottle of red wine to go with their meatloaf on a Tuesday. They’re being replaced by younger generations with much higher standards and expectations who are looking to go all in on something special and substantial.
-David Driscoll