NORFOLK, NEB. - As the holiday season approaches, getting a bottle of wine as a gift might be more expensive than previous years.

According to reports from Wine & Spirts Wholesalers of America, wine revenue is down 6.9% in 2025.

Bent on Fine Wine sells wine across 45 states including Nebraska. Owner Patrick Benton says the decline has multiple different reasons.

“So a lot of the younger drinkers are not drinking wine, spirts, alcohol or their switching to some of the newer products that weren’t available 10, 20 years ago and whats know as RTD’s," said Benton. "These ready to drink things can basically make gin and tonic or a whiskey sour and put it in a can.”

Despite demand decreasing, government reports say wine prices have increased 8% in the last 10 years. Now with a 15% tariff on European imports, prices can be higher. 

But for Kristy Skipper, who owns Bella Vino wine store in Norfolk, her timely shopping is helping her customers save when they need it.

“ We were really fortunate during the tariffs to have a great group of distributors," said Skipper. "They were able to really keep us informed coming down the pipeline of those tariffs and so I was able to also watch the news and buy enough inventory in advance so the tariffs didn’t really have an effect on the shop. ”

Skipper says 25% of her 400 different bottles of wine are imported from Europe.

If a certain brand gets too expensive, Skipper makes sure to find an affordable substitute with a similar taste.

“I just really listen to my customers and make sure that I have enough inventory and if something goes really high I try to find a different alternative that can match as close as possible to keep it affordable," said Skipper. 

Benton believes that consumers will start to feel the effect of tariffs starting in 2026. But during the rise of prices, Benton says the wine industry wont go sour.

“Well keep enjoying it, drink local and drink what you like no matter what the price is," said Benton.