So glad you have a newsletter! Reminds me of the wine lessons my best friend from my first restaurant job used to give me on our days off. :)
Also, was thinking that the decline in wine drinking might be a wellness thing or stem from more research about how bad alcohol is for you in general which has contributed to the NA movement (like you mentioned). But I'm curious about whether there's much actual research about the health effects of natural vs conventional wine. If I had to guess, natural must be soooooo much better for you but doesn't seem like there's many studies to back that up. All the articles are like "there's no proof". I hope some research comes out soon! Might encourage consumers to buy better wines and help to change some of the not-so-good conventional practices.
Andrea - a great post, but I do take issue with you characterisation of 'grocery store' wine as being somehow inferior or, as you put it, "NOT wine". Think of it as a gateway drug; at least that's how it worked for me. YOU may appreciate an aged Barolo, but someone new to wine is going to take a sniff, perhaps have a sip...then reach for the nearest Bud Lite to clear the taste. As much as you may hate it, the likes of Two-Buck Chuck or Barefoot will get the younger generation interested. And when they've got a bit more cash to spend - well...onwards and upwards.
I currently live in Southern Italy and the 'grocery store' wine here varies from battery acid to bottles that would retail for a (fair) $25 and up. I'm doing my best to rectify that 5% drop in wine drinking that you cite!
Love this, Andrea, very thoughtful piece and an important read, especially for those of us in the 'wine bubble', where it's often easy to feel like everything is hunky-dory in the world. Agree that education is important in dispelling the idea that wine is an intimidating beast, as well as the idea that only 2 options exist for consumers - bargain booze or fine wine!
So glad you have a newsletter! Reminds me of the wine lessons my best friend from my first restaurant job used to give me on our days off. :)
Also, was thinking that the decline in wine drinking might be a wellness thing or stem from more research about how bad alcohol is for you in general which has contributed to the NA movement (like you mentioned). But I'm curious about whether there's much actual research about the health effects of natural vs conventional wine. If I had to guess, natural must be soooooo much better for you but doesn't seem like there's many studies to back that up. All the articles are like "there's no proof". I hope some research comes out soon! Might encourage consumers to buy better wines and help to change some of the not-so-good conventional practices.
Andrea - a great post, but I do take issue with you characterisation of 'grocery store' wine as being somehow inferior or, as you put it, "NOT wine". Think of it as a gateway drug; at least that's how it worked for me. YOU may appreciate an aged Barolo, but someone new to wine is going to take a sniff, perhaps have a sip...then reach for the nearest Bud Lite to clear the taste. As much as you may hate it, the likes of Two-Buck Chuck or Barefoot will get the younger generation interested. And when they've got a bit more cash to spend - well...onwards and upwards.
I currently live in Southern Italy and the 'grocery store' wine here varies from battery acid to bottles that would retail for a (fair) $25 and up. I'm doing my best to rectify that 5% drop in wine drinking that you cite!
Worth a quick read of :
@gluggingwine - a few thoughts on Substack
Love this, Andrea, very thoughtful piece and an important read, especially for those of us in the 'wine bubble', where it's often easy to feel like everything is hunky-dory in the world. Agree that education is important in dispelling the idea that wine is an intimidating beast, as well as the idea that only 2 options exist for consumers - bargain booze or fine wine!