Here’s something to wine about.

Gen Z isn’t drinking like other generations — in fact, they’re barely consuming alcohol at all, with worldwide wine consumption sunk to a 27-year low, per recent reports.

Online, non-boozers cite the cost of living, the ease of consuming THC, health concerns, the taste of vino and the “elitist” reputation of the wine industry as reasons for the lack of indulgence.

“Alcohol is 2024’s cigarette,” one TikTokker boldly declared.

The sentiment follows recent studies warning about the ill effects of boozing, and advisories from the World Health Organization that state “no level of alcohol consumption is safe.” As a result, more Americans perceive alcohol as a detriment to overall health, even in moderation.

“I’ve heard wineries say it’s just been really challenging to deal with the aftermath,” Rochester-based wine writer and educator Maiah Johnson Dunn told the Guardian, referring to the statement from the WHO, which has even “scared” people out of visiting wineries.

Due to a lack of nutrition labels on alcoholic beverages, the health-conscious crowd is more wary of consuming drinks without knowing what’s in them.

“One of the top questions was: how much sugar does it have? How many calories? Can I see the nutrition?” Ellen McNeill, 28, recalled about her former role at a hard seltzer company.

While some seltzers might list nutrition facts on the label, “wine doesn’t really give a shit about calories. It’s about the taste and the experience,” added McNeill, who now co-hosts the Los Angeles-based music night called Silverlake Jams.

Another point of contention for non-wine drinkers is the pretentiousness of the industry and its products, Dunn explained.

“You don’t even know when you’re stepping in it, right? Even just how you hold your glass is something that somebody will find a way to judge you on,” she said, adding that there’s a “fear about saying the wrong thing.”

Natural wines have become a viable option for those wanting to indulge without the stuffiness, according to Bradford Taylor, the owner of California wine bar Ordinaire. The proliferation of natural — also called skin contact or low intervention — wine has resulted in a slew of wine stores and bars specializing in the vino, Le Dive, Skin Contact or Greenpoint’s newest addition, Bouquet.

“There’s not a culture of collecting. There’s not a culture of aging wines. There’s not a fetishization of historic chateaux or buying futures,” says Taylor of natural wines, which are created with natural fermentation and no filtration or additives.

Because of this, the unassuming wine — with a funky, fresh flavor — “appeals to people with less income, but also maybe with a little bit more skepticism” about traditional wine.

Some, however, have sworn off vino altogether. Past data has shown that more than 40% of surveyed Gen Zers between 21 and 25 had never taken a sip of booze, with marijuana use becoming more common.

Cue: the meteoric rise of mocktails for the “sober curious.”

At Stay, a non-alcoholic bar in LA, customers of all ages are drawn by the prospects of good vibes but no hangover the next morning. When they opened earlier this year, it was “a packed house.”

“You can have every drink, you can mix drinks, you can drive home, you can go to sleep, you can wake up not hung over,” co-owner Stacey Mann told The Guardian, adding that Dry January “was nuts.”

And it’s not just LA — in New York City, havens for alcohol abstainers have cropped up, such as the downtown haunt Hekate, which bills itself as a “sober sanctuary.”

It’s a stark contrast from the bar scene not even 20 years ago, when a strictly sober bar “wouldn’t have had any wheels whatsoever,” noted Stay co-owner Summer Phoenix.

“We’re just all in this weird limbo figuring out what’s going to happen next,” said Dunn, although she doesn’t think it spells the end of the wine industry since “people like to drink things, even with this sober-curious era.”

“If we can’t speak to more than one type of person, then we will always be in trouble.”